Miguel Cabrera’s season is over

Miguel Cabrera, Detroit Tigers first baseman, has a ruptured biceps tendon that will require season-ending surgery, the Tigers announced yesterday.

The Tigers are bad and rebuilding so they’ve largely been off the radar of late, but Cabrera, 35, had been having a nice bounceback season prior to his injury, slashing .299/.395/.448, good for a 0.4 bWAR, in 37 games. Cabrera had his worst season of his career in 2017, putting up a -0.8 bWAR while slashing .249/.329/.399.

Cabrera is a reminder that even great players can be risky bets when they enter their mid-30s...the Tigers inked Cabrera to a 8 year, $240 million extension covering 2016-23 prior to the 2014 season, and while he was terrific in 2016, the first year of the deal, last year was bad, and this year has been injury-shortened. Cabrera is owed $30 million this season, and has 5 years, $154 million remaining on his deal after 2018.

Detroit is also an object lesson of the downside of chasing a ring when your window is closing...the Tigers are paying $76 million this year to Cabrera, Jordan Zimmermann, Victor Martinez, Prince Fielder and Justin Verlander. Cabrera is out for the year, Zimmerman and Martinez have not been good, Fielder is retired, and Verlander is in Houston.