Detroit Tigers: Moving Miguel Cabrera to a permanent designated hitter

On Tuesday, news went out the Detroit Tigers were considering moving Miguel Cabrera away from first base to a permanent designated hitter role. Cabrera and the team made this decision with his health as the primary consideration; the aging superstar is dealing with recurring knee issues.

It is no question Miguel Cabrera has had a career of health issues. Back issues have consistently bothered him. He dealt with bone spurs in 2015. He appeared in only 38 games last season due to a bicep tear. This season, it appears his knee will take him off first base duties and relegate him to a permanent DH. This move should keep stress off his knee and prevent further injuries. Hopefully, a byproduct of this move will be an improvement in his at-bats. Somewhat amusingly, on the day this news came out, Cabrera went 3-4 with his fifth career grand slam as his Detroit Tigers beat the Tampa Bay Rays. This game was a bright spot in an otherwise tepid season.

Unfortunately, Miguel Cabrera’s offensive output has been very different from the Triple Crown-winning season of 2012. He has not hit more than .300 since 2016, and his power has greatly decreased, too.

An eye on his advanced stats is telling: his hard-hit percentage, exit velocity, and barrel percentage (stats that attempt to measure swing quality) have all taken dives this year. Notably, he seems to lack the ability to drive the ball to right field, a quality he has always exhibited. In fact, his grand slam on Tuesday went 380 feet—to left field.

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Lack of production leads to a lack of hometown support. One issue is that Cabrera is under an expensive contract. He is midway through an 8-year contract worth $30 million per year. This season’s struggles have only highlighted the size of the contract—and the length of time remaining.

There is also the question of his recent attitude. He has infamously complained about the lack of production around him. Basically, this is not a good time to go through a slump. There is never a good time for a player to struggle, but now is an especially bad time for Cabrera.

This will undoubtedly be an adjustment for Cabrera; he has already appeared as a DH more times in 2019 than in any other season in his career. In all likelihood, transitioning to a solely designated hitter role will be beneficial for Cabrera’s hitting. He will be able to focus on hitting alone, and more importantly, he can safely rehabilitate his knee. Without any danger of injuring or straining it further, Cabrera should be a renewed boon to the Tigers lineup.

Cabrera as permanent DH does take a few players out of the lineup, though. When given the opportunity, Brandon Dixon has thrived in the DH spot. If this spot is now taken, it may be harder to find room for him in the lineup. Fortunately for him, he is a bit of a platoon player and has shown he can play several other infield and outfield positions.

Then, who’s on first? While Cabrera has handled the lion’s share of first base this season, Dixon, Niko Goodrum, and John Hicks have split the rest of the time. Last season, Hicks and Goodrum managed most of the games in Cabrera’s absence, along with Jim Adduci now in the Cubs’ organization.

For better or for worse, the Detroit Tigers have four more years with Miguel Cabrera. Honestly, the Tigers had Cabrera is in his prime, so it is only natural to have him during his decline as well. The future Hall-of-Famer will never return to his prime of 2010-15.

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The anomaly that was Tuesday (a double, a home run, and five RBIs) was an exception, probably not the rule. If Cabrera preserves himself as a hitter and can return to form, though, this move to DH will be good for the team in the end.

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