Tigers Send Hot-Hitting Hicks To Triple-A To Make Room For Miggy
By: Will Burchfield
@burchie_kid
John Hicks made quite the case to stick around with the Tigers.
Ultimately, though, he's not Miguel Cabrera.
With Cabrera being activated from the 10-day D.L. for Tuesday night's game versus the Indians, the Tigers needed to make room on the roster. And Hicks was the casualty.
The Tigers have reinstated 1B Miguel Cabrera from the 10-day DL and optioned C/1B John Hicks to Toledo (AAA).
— Tigers PR (@DetroitTigersPR) May 2, 2017
Called up to the Tigers on April 22 after Cabrera strained his groin, Hicks hit .423 with a home run, three doubles and seven RBI over seven games. He played mostly at first base.
On Monday, Brad Ausmus was asked about the difficulty of potentially demoting a player who has played so well.
"It's always hard to tell someone they're being sent down. It's a little easier when you tell them they're being sent down because Miguel Cabrera's coming off the disabled list," Ausmus said. "They're smart guys, they can figure it out."
Jim Adduci is another player from Triple-A Toledo who has filled in admirably for an injured star -- in his case, J.D. Martinez. Over seven games Adduci is hitting .333.
"The call-ups we've had recently certainly have contributed offensively," Ausmus said, "and they didn't hurt their own cause moving forward."
The Tigers are eager to insert Cabrera back into the lineup. He was hitting .268 with an .834 OPS at the time of his injury, but .429 with a .1321 OPS over the prior eight games.
"Miggy's a guy that you want all year. He's generally a guy that plays 150-something games and he's one of the best hitters in any league," Ausmus said. "Hopefully he's healthy the rest of the way."