Miguel Cabrera Injury to Ruin Detroit Tiger’s Playoff Hopes?
By Josh Sippie
The last thing in the world that a team wants is for the star of their team to get hurt. But for the Detroit Tigers, losing Miguel Cabrera is like losing the heart and soul of the team. Miggy is the front runner to pull in AL MVP and with a stat line of .350 with 15 home runs and 54 RBIs.
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You cannot just replace or get over an injury like that and the Tigers are in no place to weather the storm.
Being 6 games out of the AL Central race, the Tigers have a lot of ground to make up to catch the Kansas City. The Tigers had been struggling enough with pitching as they rank 24th in ERA but the return of Justin Verlander was supposed to help that, and it will.
The main thing going the Tigers way was their offense. But while it had not provided the same run support that it did in years past (the Tigers rank 9th in runs scored), it was still the major buoyant force keeping the Tigers afloat in the playoff race.
That being said, the Detroit Tigers without Miguel Cabrera are hardly the Detroit Tigers that have been perennial playoff contenders in years past. The Tigers were second in runs scored last year thanks in large part to their star man Miggy but aside from him, the Tigers will have to be powered by J.D. Martinez and Yoenis Cespedes.
Cespedes and Martinez are the only two Tigers other than Miguel Cabrera that have double digit home runs and more than 40 RBIs. J.D. Martinez has been on fire of late, as he dominated June with 26 RBIs, tied for most in the league. However, that accounts for half of his RBIs in just one month. Is that kind of success sustainable?
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Tiger’s manager Brad Ausmus has spoken out about how big of a loss this injury is, stating (via the Detroit Free Press): “We’re going to have to find a way to get it down without him, at least for the next month and a half or so.”
While Ausmus obviously still has faith in his offense, the fact is that they cannot maintain their current position without Miguel Cabrera. The injury report indicates that he has a grade 3 calf strain, which is almost a complete rupture of the muscle. As such, he is confined to the disabled list for at least a month.
It really is devastating news for the Tigers and it would not at all be surprising to see them fall further away from the first place Kansas City Royals. Granted, one month does not determine an entire season, but it sure does not help a team that is already 6 games back.
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