| Detroit Free Press
Detroit Tigers’ AJ Hinch thinks team can win in 2021 with ‘mindset change’
Detroit Tigers manager AJ Hinch breaks down the team’s offseason entering the 2021 season Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2020.
Evan Petzold, Detroit Free Press
Miguel Cabrera‘s last game at first base for the Detroit Tigers was June 26, 2019.
That could change in the 2021 season. He was the full-time designated hitter in the shortened 2020 campaign, despite pleading for opportunities at his old position.
New manager AJ Hinch seems ready to grant Cabrera’s wish, but it’s unclear how many games he will split between first base and designated hitter. Still, Hinch thinks allowing the soon-to-be 38-year-old to play some first base, if he can stay healthy, will make the Tigers a better team.
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“I’d like him to play first base, certainly part of the games,” Hinch said Wednesday. “Freeing up the DH is important. Keeping Miggy on the field and keeping him healthy is going to be the priority. We got to make sure he is healthy and can handle the first base position in a certain amount of games per week.”
From 2017-19, Cabrera’s production has been tainted by injuries. He played in every game in 2020, albeit as the designated hitter, except for the season finale.
Cabrera, whose lucrative contract doesn’t expire until after the 2023 season, has a .267 batting average, 41 homers and 176 RBIs across 361 games in the last four years.
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Entering 2020 in better shape, he hit .250 with 10 home runs and 35 RBIs through 57 games. The former two-time American League MVP and 2012 Triple Crown winner believes moving back to first base will help him fix his offensive woes.
“I hope they can give me more time to play first,” Cabrera said in September. “I need to be in the field. I’m learning how to be a DH right now, but it’s hard for me to go hit and then go sit and think about what I’m going to do in my next at-bat. In the past, I’d forget about hitting and play defense. … I want to spend a little more time at first base next year.”
Cabrera still feels pain in his knees. His back is often sore. And he has several other issues related to past injuries. But overall, he feels healthy.
If Cabrera keeps away from the injury bug, Hinch vows to put him in the field. Doing so would give the Tigers versatility, allowing third baseman Jeimer Candelario — who is also a first baseman — to move around. Super-utility player Niko Goodrum will get reps at numerous positions, as well.
“It makes our team better,” Hinch said. “It allows me to move Candy around a little bit and Niko around a little bit and get Miggy on the field, playing baseball the way he’s always played. He’s always been engaged on both sides of the field, so the more first base he can play and stay healthy, the better our team will be.”
Most importantly, putting Cabrera at first base could help his offense improve.
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“When I look back on my career, when I’m done managing, they (Houston’s Jose Altuve and Cabrera) will be both near the top of my list of incredible players that I’m going to get to be around and manager,” Hinch said. “Not everybody gets to manage icons like that.”
Evan Petzold is a sports reporting intern at the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him on Twitter @EvanPetzold.