9 Years, 214 Million...

[4everwarriors]

Yeah, at 214 man, that cat can scarf whatever he wants and it don't matter. As long as he doesn't pop a gasket.

[MerrittsMustache]

This is a good point, the Tigers have their window with Verlander and Cabrera, and Prince solidifies them as the favorites for the AL Central (and maybe even the AL) for the next 2-4 years.  Its hard to find fault with a team calling their shot and going for it all for the next few years.  And the reason its a good deal for the Tigers is why it'd be a bad deal for the Cubs.  Its way easier to justify that contract for the "last piece" of an already really good team than as the building block on an otherwise really messed up team. 

Which is exactly how the Cubs justified Soriano's contract. Prince's contract only becomes a problem if the team doesn't win a World Series. If the Cubs had won it all in '07 and/or '08, we all would have been excited to witness the unveiling of the Jim Hendry statue outside Wrigley in the midst of an ugly, 70-win season.

[Real Chilly Podcast]

Am I the only one who thinks Cabrera at 3rd base will end badly for Detroit? And that to give a 27 year old, 320 lb vegetarian a 9 year contract is insane? If Prince ever falls off the wagon and replaces the hay in his diet with ribeyes he'll be 4 bells in no time.

The majority of Tigers fans would agree with you, in that bunting down the lines could become a major weapon against those two at the corner infield positions. 

I don't think Cabrera will be playing as much as third as reports indicate, as Leyland regularly juggles his lineup based on hunches and the type of pitcher on the mound.  I think he will end up playing about 70 games at 3rd this year, splitting the rest of the time at 1st and DH.  Leyland also regularly puts any dinged up players at DH to heal.  In games in NL parks, these two will likely be at the corners.  Cabrera will play 3rd on days when power/flyball pitchers (Verlander/Scherzer) and lefty pitchers (whomever is our 5th starter is likely to be a lefty) because of the reduced number of plays at the hot corner.

Cabrera still will have instincts at 3rd, his natural position, has a plus arm and glove, but lacks in range.  This is also a problem on the left side of the infield because Peralta is a vacuum at SS but doesnt have the best range.  I think that you will see most speedster righty batters will be fed a healthy diet of fastballs away, something that is a strength of Tigers pitching.


Also, something people forget, is that the Tigers traded for Wilson Betemit this past year at the deadline, and although he provided an offensive upgrade at 3rd, in 40 games he had 6 errors, and was one of the worst fielding 3rd basemen I have witnessed.  Cabrera, although chunky, will be no worse than Betemit (and likely better) at 3rd.  And the Tigers really got hot and pulled away from the other teams in the AL Central once Betemit arrived.

SOOOOO... to answer your question, I don't think Cabrera at 3rd will end badly (especially since he is not projected there long term, as our top prospect, Nick Castellanos 3B, is a year or two away) ... there also have been discussions of trading Prince after just one year, for when Victor returns, and getting a stud infielder in return ala Hanley Ramirez