Cabrera to eye milestones and health in 2020

This is not how a legend was expected to age, not a former Triple Crown winner and four-time batting champion who has made a case for the greatest hitter of his generation. But this is what Miguel Cabrera faces as he heads into the 2020 season.

“Sometimes you pay the price when you play for a lot of years,” Cabrera said this summer. “Sometimes you pay the price when you play when you’re hurt.”

Cabrera knows how the aging process works. He watched his former Tigers teammate and fellow Venezuelan Magglio Ordonez go through it a decade ago after winning a batting title in 2007. Ordonez was limited to 84 games -- most of them in right field -- in his age-36 season in 2010, but batted .303 with 12 home runs, 59 RBIs and an .852 OPS. A year later, Ordonez was a quiet catalyst behind the stretch run that vaulted the Tigers to the first of their four consecutive American League Central titles, until a broken ankle in the ALCS ended his career.

As Cabrera nears his 37th birthday, he has become a designated hitter who hopes to be able to play first base every so often next season. His march to 3,000 hits and 500 home runs, while still an eventuality, has slowed. At the same time, he was the best hitter in the Tigers’ lineup for the stretch run, especially after they traded Nicholas Catellanos to the Cubs at the Deadline. Barring a surprise roster addition, Cabrera will most likely go into next season as the best hitter in the Detroit nine.

At some point this month, Cabrera is likely to get word from doctors on what, if anything, he can do to mitigate the impact his balky right knee has on his game. His knee can’t be fixed, and he knows it, but he wants to know what he can do to avoid a repeat of the painful season he endured in 2019.

“Playing with this the last four or five months gave me a better idea about what I need to do for next year,” Cabrera said. “If I can come in strong and in better shape, I think I will be able to do a little bit more.

“But I will see what the doctors say about what might work, what can I work, what kind of workout can I do to get in better shape and be 100 percent next year.”

What Went Right

Cabrera’s 136 games played and 549 plate appearances were his highest marks in both categories since 2016. It wasn’t easy, and he certainly wasn’t at full strength for many -- if any -- of those games, but the day-in, day-out routine allowed him to regain his role as a key authority on the team. It also allowed him to rework his swing to take pressure off his aching right knee and put it on his healthier left, an impressive midseason adjustment for someone who has relied on the same swing for nearly his entire career.

Despite the numbers, Cabrera was the veteran run producer the Tigers needed him to be. His .369 average (41-for-111) with runners in scoring position was third-highest in Major League Baseball among hitters with at least 100 at-bats in such situations. He batted .298 (48-for-161) with an .839 OPS from July 29 to season’s end.

What Went Wrong

A whole lot. Not only did the bulk Cabrera carried in hopes of regaining his home-run power not help as intended, it hurt, putting pressure on his back, knee and ankle. The knee was an issue for nearly the entire season, limiting him to DH duties and sidelining him for stretches to manage it.

Strategically, the Tigers had been planning for the eventuality of Cabrera being an everyday DH for some time. But the abruptness of the move forced manager Ron Gardenhire to adjust, leaving a void at first base that Detroit struggled to fill with a productive bat.

Cabrera’s .398 slugging percentage was the lowest of his 17-year Major League career. His .744 OPS marked just his second season under .750, both in the last three years. His drop in extra-base power, combined with his limited mobility -- he was the slowest Tiger in terms of sprint speed as well as split times from home to first base -- left him stranded on base often.

Best Moment

A couple days after Cabrera received the diagnosis about chronic changes in his right knee, he returned to the lineup on June 4 and hit a go-ahead grand slam off defending AL Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell. It was Cabrera’s first grand slam in six years and first home run of any kind at Comerica Park since April 2018, which brought a roar from the crowd and the Tigers dugout.

“I mean, we're just literally sitting here watching a little bit of history,” rookie outfielder Christin Stewart said at the time.

2020 Outlook

No matter what doctors tell Cabrera he can do about his knee, he enters next season at a crossroads with four more guaranteed seasons on his contract.

“There's not a lot they can do. Surgery's not an option. It is what it is with his leg,” Gardenhire said two weeks ago. “He's going to have to play through this thing. I think his workout regimen is going to be to try to lose weight, get a little more weight off of that thing. That will probably help him out. He's going to work hard, try to lose weight, see if that will help.”

If Cabrera sheds weight, he will likely sacrifice power for agility and bat speed. He could be a .300 hitter again, but 25 home runs seems like a stretch. It’s a trade-off he’s willing to make in order to stay on the field and be productive at the plate. To do that, he will likely have to regain his effectiveness hitting to the opposite field.