In another edition of answering from his mailbag, Detroit Tigers beat writer Anthony Fenech took questions from fans inquiring on his unique perspective of the team.
One particular question was in regards to slugger Miguel Cabrera, who has been dealing with health issues that’s seen his power greatly decline from his Triple Crown winning season in 2012.
The question:
https://twitter.com/millerth3/status/1196427819657641989
Fenech’s answer:
“I don’t think Miguel Cabrera is done physically, but I think it’s going to take an exemplary level of mental and physical discipline to sniff being the best hitter in baseball again.
[ Miguel Cabrera, even on one leg, did all he could for the Tigers in 2019 ]
It would surprise me if Cabrera, who turns 37 years old in April, did that. But it would not surprise me if he finished his career as a very productive hitter who hits .300 with 20-plus home runs in a season.
The decision ultimately comes down to Cabrera, who is in a Catch-22 of sorts: Because of his chronically-injured knee – which forced him into a permanent designated hitter role in 2019 – he is unable to shed weight through traditional practices like running or cardiovascular activity, which puts pressure on that knee.”
Additionally, Fenech fielded a question in regards to whether or not the Tigers would be willing to part with top prospect Casey Mize as part of a blockbuster deal. Fenech quickly put the kibosh on any notion of that.
Any chance we try and make a “blockbuster” trade that also involves some of our prospects? For example: Boyd and Mize for Betts. Not exactly that but a trade where we have to give up more to get the “main piece”
— Drew (@Drew24109) November 18, 2019
“There is no chance the Tigers would trade Casey Mize under any circumstances, let alone one with Matthew Boyd – who still has three years of team control remaining – for a player who is one year away from free agency.
I don’t know what qualifies a “blockbuster” trade anymore, but the Tigers don’t seem to have the pieces to execute such a move. Perhaps Boyd for a strong prospect haul could fall into that category, but the Tigers passed on deals for him last trade deadline, and given his second-half regression, the market may not bear similar fruits.
Besides Boyd, I can’t identify any players on the major league team that would command significant prospect hauls, but with 29 other teams, there’s certainly some combination of big-leaguers and prospects that could result in a bold move, I’m just not sold the Tigers have the ability to find it.”
