Miguel Cabrera is coming off a monstrous year for the Detroit Tigers in which he batted .328 and added 126 RBI.
Cabrera appeared to have recovered from the alcohol incidents he had previously, including blowing a 0.26 BAC the night before an important game against the Minnesota Twins in 2009.
However, Cabrera’s career appears to be headed on a downward spiral due to alcoholism. He apparently entered a rehab program that was supposed to turn his life around. Cabrera was even quoted as saying, “I feel like a new man,” after completing the program.
It seems that Cabrera did feel like a new man late Wednesday night, when he was drinking from a bottle of Scotch in front of a police officer. It is one thing for a player to go out to a social event and have a couple drinks, but it is a completely different thing to sit in your car, alone, drinking from a bottle of Scotch.
Maybe the Detroit Tigers just need to get Cabrera back into a rehab facility, or maybe there are bigger problems that rehab just won’t fix. The only person that really does know what is going on is Cabrera himself, and he probably won’t discuss it with the fans or the media.
Cabrera is the Tigers’ best player; there is no question about that. In fact, he is probably one of the best first basemen in the game, behind only Albert Pujols. However, is Cabrera really worth the trouble?
Maybe the Tigers should part ways with Cabrera. Maybe they should find someone willing to take on a very good player with a history of drinking problems, or maybe some GM thinks he can fix Cabrera’s problems.
Unfortunately, the Tigers would not get enough in return if they were to trade Miguel Cabrera. When the Tigers inked Cabrera to an eight-year, $153.3 million deal, he signed the fourth biggest contract in major league history. No MLB team is going to take on that contract with the problems that Cabrera has shown in the last two years.
What should the Tigers do? The answer is simple, as it is their only real option: The Tigers need to take Cabrera out of spring training and get him back into rehab.
It appeared rehab helped him out the first time, so why not try again?
The Tigers are unfortunately stuck between a rock and a hard place with their best player. It is hard to fault the Tigers for signing Cabrera to the deal they did, as he was only 24 years old and appeared to make a solid impact on the locker room. Things change, though, and now the Tigers are on the hook for five more years.
Cabrera clearly has some serious issues, and the Tigers need to do their best to help their star player.
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