Can Miguel Cabrera Be Next Vladimir Guerrero?
By: Will Burchfield
@burchie_kid
For maybe the first time since his rookie season, Miguel Cabrera is a question mark.
Slowed by injuries in 2017, most notably two herniated discs in his back, he had the worst year of his career. What to expect of him in 2018?
Who knows.
He'll be 35 in April, and he's clearly no longer the hitter who won consecutive MVP awards in 2012 and 2013. At the same time, he's better than the .249/.329/.399 slash line he put up in 2017.
Tigers general manager Al Avila believes Cabrera will bounce back next season, and pointed to another great slugger as the reason why.
"Quite frankly, if you go back and look at Vladimir Guerrero, he had five discs that were hurt. Through a good rehab program he played for many, many years after that. And Miguel Cabrera, it's less than five, there's two of them. So I fully except a fully-healthy Miguel Cabrera coming back and producing," Avila said on Friday after the Tigers introduced new manager Ron Gardenhire.
Guerrero suffered his back injury in the 2003 season, forcing him to miss 45 games. The next year he won American League MVP and went on to have seven more productive seasons. He retired in 2011 at the age of 36.
It's an encouraging parallel for Cabrera, except for the age. Guerrero was six years younger at the time of their respective injuries. 2003 marked his sixth full MLB season; 2017 marked Cabrera's 14th.
Cabrera has more miles on his body than almost any active Major Leaguer. To expect him to channel his prime in 2018 is asking too much. Still, an offseason of rehab should do him well. Cabrera isn't undergoing surgery -- neither did Guerrero, for what it's worth -- and is already on the road to recovery.
"We have a good plan for him this offseason. The day after the season ended, he went home, got checked out by the doctor and he started his program right away. We're monitoring that," said Avila.
There were rumors that Cabrera was going through a divorce last season, another factor which may have led to his disappointing season.
"I'm not going to address any of his personal issues, but I do believe the main reason that Miguel Cabrera could not perform as well as what we're accustomed to seeing is because of his injuries. I do believe that in all seriousness," said Avila.
Cabrera initially injured his back in the World Baseball Classic in March, and it never properly healed. On top of that, he was dealing with groin, hip flexor and oblique issues for most of the season.
"From the get-go, when he got back from the World Baseball Classic, he was hurt and he was trying to play through these things. He's got a great tolerance for pain, but at the end of the day that's what affected him most," Avila said.
Asked on Friday about getting Cabrera back on track, Gardenhire said the obvious key is keeping him healthy.
"I know this: He's one of the greatest players to play the game. If we keep him healthy and on the field, I first-hand witnessed him mutilate our baseball team too many times," said Gardnehire, referring to his years with the Twins. "I would like to keep him healthy and a couple of veterans and get them on board with how we're going to go about playing the game.
"But more than anything else, when he's healthy I know what he can do. And I firmly believe that if we keep him that way we're going to have some fun working around him and using him as our leader."
2018 AL MVP? Doubtful.
Comeback Player of the Year? Don't rule it out.