Considering Cabrera

Everybody on the Detroit Tigers is on the trade block – or so it seems, at least.  The Tigers are not planning a fire sale but, they are interested in significantly scaling back payroll and if the right situation presents itself, I would not be surprised to see a guy like Miguel Cabrera moved.  At 26, Cabrera won’t be a frequent contributor to  Baseball Tonight’s Web Gems segment but he can absolutely mash.  He is owed $126 million through 2015 and would require a significant package of players in a return (although, perhaps the cost of his contract could keep the price of prospects low, relatively speaking).  Without getting into speculation on whether he’d be a fit in the clubhouse or what type of package we’d need to send over, I want to simply take a look at how Cabrera could help us out on the field.

Clearly, Cabrera would be an asset to our lineup as he has posted a slash line of .311/.383/.547 for his career.  Slotted behind Teixeira and Rodriguez, Cabrera would be the third member of a juggernaut three-headed monster in the middle of our order.  The only knock against him offensively is that he’s slow.  0 – 90 in 5.4 seconds type of slow.  Personally, that’s not something I care about when he’s going to be trotting  to his destination 60-70+ times a year

Enough about his offense because we already know that he is a beast at the plate and there really isn’t anything clever for me to say or point out about it right now.  The main thing that I find interesting is the potential for Cabrera to provide us with lineup flexibility in addition to his offense.  Now, keep in mind that I do understand that Cabrera is not a good defensive player but, in his young career he has played 1B, 3B, LF and RF.  The Yankees’ ideal plan includes leaving the DH position as a revolving resting spot of sorts, letting some of their old(er) veterans catch a breather without taking their bat out of the lineup.  Our current DH candidates – Johnny Damon and Hideki Matsui – would not allow for this plan to work very well.  Damon can’t play the infield and his left field play is tough to watch sometimes; and Matsui just can’t play the field period.  Cabrera, on the other hand could handle DH duties to hide his glove the majority of the time but when someone does need a blow he can fill in for him.  Like I already said, his defense won’t be a plus but he can man the positions well enough to keep Teixeira and Rodriguez fresh in addition to playing some outfield if/when needed – something that can’t be said for Matsui or Damon.  Here’s a rough look at what our lineup could look like:

1. Jeter, SS

2. tba, LF

3. Teixeira, 1B

4. A-Rod, 3B

5. Cabrera, DH

6. Posada, C

7. Cano, 2B

8. Swisher, RF

9. Gardner/Melky, CF

Obviously, we would need to fill the LF position, most likely with a bargain piece and may need to shift the lineup around a tad but this looks like something that would do a good job replacing the production from Damon and Matsui.  Not a surprise – inserting Miguel Cabrera into a lineup rarely detracts from it.  The most important thing is that A-Rod and Teixeira could get as much “rest” as they need and the lineup would look exactly the same.

While I pretty much ignored most of the key factors that would go into making a move like this (money, trade package, attitude, etc.), I did enjoy stating the obvious fact that Miguel Cabrera would be an asset to our lineup.  In all seriousness, though, I would not be surprised to see the Yankees’ name kicked around in any rumors regarding Miguel Cabrera that are on the horizon.  We have the money to spend (although, we are trying to trim down payroll) and have the prospects to get a deal done.  Most importantly, we are in the market for a stud DH who can keep our other two studs fresh throughout the season and Cabrera is just that.

Tags: Miguel Cabrera