Tigers first baseman Miguel Cabrera has battled a plethora of injuries in his 30’s, playing in 119 games in 2015 and 130 games last year. He’s battled hamstring, groin, back, biceps, and calf injuries just in the last few years. While he has spent some time on the disabled list, Cabrera has also played while injured. But he won’t be doing that anymore.
As MLive.com’s Evan Boodbery reports, Cabrera feels unappreciated for playing injured. He said, referring to playing through his current hamstring injury, “I went through that last year, so I don’t want to do the same thing. Nobody appreciates you when you play hurt, so I’m going to take my time and play when I’m good. I played hurt a lot of years here in Detroit. They don’t appreciate that. When you are doing bad, they crush you. They crush you. They say you’re bad, you should go home, you don’t deserve anything, you’re old. I say, ‘OK, I’m done playing hurt.’ Now I take my time.”
While Cabrera’s stats last year were by far the worst of his career, he had gotten off to a great start this season, batting .323/.407/.516 with three home runs and 21 RBI in 108 plate appearances. John Hicks has admirably handled first base in Cabrera’s absence. It’s not currently known when Cabrera will come off the disabled list, as he recently felt soreness in his hips and back while receiving treatment. He was eligible to come off the DL on Monday.