The biggest news in baseball over the weekend was the contract extension that Miguel Cabrera signed with the Detroit Tigers. After a couple of months of hearing how the Tigers wanted to sign Cabrera to an extension, they finally came to terms on an 8-year $153 million deal to keep Miggy in Motown until 2016. It was the right move for Detroit to make, because when you give up all the prospects that Detroit did to land Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis, you'd like to keep them around for a while.The only problem I have with the deal is the length of it. This isn't the NFL where contracts aren't guaranteed. If Miguel falls down a flight of stairs tomorrow and breaks his back in 5 places and can never play again, the Tigers are still going to have to pay him that $153 million. While Miguel certainly deserves the money he's going to be getting, and he's been healthy throughout his career, I'm still concerned about his weight.
If Miguel has trouble staying in shape at the age of 24, how can we expect he's going to be able to do it at 28? 30? It's possible that someday his weight will dramatically effect his ability to play third base, and it could lead to health problems down the road.
Still, I realize that if Miguel's belly is the biggest problem he has in Detroit, then things will probably work out fine for both Cabrera and the Tigers. I just think that the Tigers would have been better off giving Miguel something in the 5-year $100 million range.
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Reader Comments ( Page 1 of 1)
1. "If Miguel falls down a flight of stairs tomorrow and breaks his back in 5 places and can never play again, the Tigers are still going to have to pay him that $153 million."
The contract isn't insured?
Posted at 2:31PM on Mar 24th 2008 by Scott
2. I'm positive the contract is insured. And I'm sure the Tigers would have preferred to do a shorter contract... but he'll be the same age at the end of this contract as Alex Rodriguez was when he signed a 10-year contract for 50% more money.
It's not like Cabrera's camp would have accepted just anything that was thrown out there. I'm sure they insisted on this being a long-term contract.
Posted at 2:38PM on Mar 24th 2008 by Joel
3. There is something called workers compensation insurance, if Miguel, god forbid, falls down some stairs, all MLB teams have insurance against injuries that prevent a player from fulfilling his contract. Something like 75% of the cost would end up being covered by the insurance. The reporting is a bit melodramatic here.
Posted at 2:43PM on Mar 24th 2008 by Nate
4. He's on the Manny Ramirez program of hitting unhealthy in his early years but won't have the conditioning know how to get himself back into shape in his later years.
Posted at 2:58PM on Mar 24th 2008 by The Unreliable Narrator
5. When Cabrera becomes 500 pounds and can no longer play the field the Tigers will regret this deal. A-Rod is (and was) a better fielder, a better hitter, a better base-runner and a harder worker.
Posted at 6:39PM on Mar 24th 2008 by tobrien28
6. Sounds like a bunch of Boston and New York fans that are unhappy the Tigers were successful in signing Cabrera. They were probably hoping to buy him in a year or two. After all, that is the way they win World Series! How dare the lowly Tigers try that tactic!
Posted at 8:54PM on Mar 24th 2008 by houchens
7. I think that his contract is perfect. No one said A-Rods contract was too long and the Yankees are going to have to pay him that amount even if he falls from the stairs and breaks his back in 5 places. I think people should think before they make these comments because if you are worried about his 152 and how it was too long, then u dont know what would they Yankees go thru if that happens to him. Because by that time u dont know if A-rod will be that good. He will be way older than miguel
Posted at 1:38PM on Mar 26th 2008 by kchavez2402