Miguel Cabrera: Why the Detroit Tigers Should Unload the Spoiled Slugger
The Detroit Tigers' offseason was full of big moves, as they improved both their bullpen and lineup. Now they have a slew of power hitters in their lineup, including new acquisition Victor Martinez.
They may end up being without their star first baseman soon, however. Last night, Cabrera was arrested on drunk driving charges. He was released after posting bond, but this is not the first time such a situation has occurred. In 2009, he had an incident at the end of the season that led to him spending time in an alcoholism treatment program.
Cabrera seems to be having enough problems that it may start affecting the team. At this point, it is better for Detroit to just get rid of their problem. Whether it means they need to unload him onto another team or unload him into a facility, they need to do something.
He Can Be Traded
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Miguel Cabrera's contract allows for him to be traded if necessary. While he does have five more years left on his deal, his sheer talent level means that many teams would gladly take him on despite his many issues.
He makes $20 million plus each of those years, so it may be more difficult to find a suitor for the entire deal, but there will always be people looking for a perennial 100-RBI guy. If the Tigers feel that trading him is necessary, then it would not be hard to do.
High Probability of Flameout
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So many baseball careers start promising yet get derailed due to alcohol and drug use. Josh Hamilton was a prime example of this for a long time, though he has finally turned things around. Sam McDowell is another example, as he could have potentially won 300 games had he been able to control his drinking.
Cabrera has posted amazing stats to start off his career, yet if these issues continue, those stats will go south in a hurry and his career could potentially be a "what if" situation.
Been Down This Road Before
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If this was the first situation that Cabrera was involved in, then Tigers management may not worry too much about it. In October 2009, Cabrera was brought to jail for a domestic dispute while having a blood alcohol level of .26 in the process.
Here's a rule of thumb for baseball players. If your blood alcohol content is a passable for a batting average, you had too much.
After that 2009 incident he was sent to a facility and was reportedly clean during his great 2010 season. Now, he has either relapsed or he needs more help than a three-month stay at a facility was able to give.
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Would Rehab Even Work?
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It is unclear if another stay would actually work. For starters, Spring Training is set to begin, and the season begins in a month and a half. If Cabrera is getting treatment for a problem, then he would be gone for a while.
Having said that, Cabrera has said that he doesn't have a problem. In 2010 he noted, according to ESPN, "I don't know how to explain, but it's not an alcohol problem." If he does, then the first step has yet to be taken.
He Could Rub Off On Others
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Miguel Cabrera is the leader of the Tigers, a team that has a lot of young stars on it. As a result, he is going to be the player that is looked up to. If he's going out drinking and gets pulled over, then that's a problem beyond just Cabrera.
No one wants to turn into the Cincinnati Bengals and have a sizable portion of their team getting arrested in the offseason, so the Tigers can't let Cabrera's antics rub off on those rising up the farm system.
Entitlement
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When Cabrera was pulled over by police, his speech was slurred, and Cabrera asked them if they knew who he was.
While it's not clear what exactly he meant there, it sounds like he knows he's a superstar, and apparently felt entitled to some leeway on some matters. Needless to say, that's not how it works. Being an MVP candidate does not mean you can pull stunts like this, and if he actually thinks that (it was probably the scotch talking), then that's a very bad sign.
Tigers Could Fill Weaknesses
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If the Tigers were to actually consider trading Cabrera because of these situations, then they could get a lot for him. Aside from getting a replacement at first base, since plenty will be around, they could acquire another catcher and have Victor Martinez spend time at first.
The Tigers could also gain some much-needed pitching help, since they struggled in the rotation last year outside of Justin Verlander. They have young talent in Rick Procello and others, but they could acquire a solid veteran arm this way.
Image
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These DUI charges are a major image issue, not just for Cabrera but for the Tigers as well. It's naturally harder to market a guy with legal issues than without, and when that type of player is the face of the franchise, that can create problems.
After all, if Cabrera actually decided to take a swig of scotch in the car in front of the police officer, image was apparently not much of a concern for him.
No team wants to have an image as a team where they let the players do whatever they want, and that's what I see them trying to avoid by having Cabrera be dealt with.
Doesn't Seem To Get It
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Going off of the image issue, Miguel Cabrera doesn't seem to get that if he does something stupid, there's going to be a wave of publicity. Instead of taking what he learned in 2009 and early 2010 and working with that, he has seemed to slip back into his troublemaking ways.
This just seems to be the guy Cabrera is, and if he doesn't get that he can't do this now, I don't know if he will at any point in his career.
The Tigers Are Now In a Tough Spot
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Last on the list, and perhaps most importantly, is that it's tough to know where the Tigers go from here. If they mandate him going to rehab now, then he'll be lost for, at a minimum, the first couple months of the season.
If they ignore it and let it slide, then I've already noted the problems with that. If they have him get treated at season's end, then how do they know something won't happen during the year? Trading him away, of course, can create another boatload of problems.
Miguel Cabrera gave the Tigers no opening for what they can really do here that satisfies all sides.
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