Is Miguel Cabrera good enough to play third base? – MLB News
Just a few days ago, the Tigers agreed to a nine year $214 million contract with Prince Fielder. The left handed striker is expected to play the first base position for the Tigers and if that turns out to be the case, Miguel Cabrera will be looking to perform third base duties this season.
Fielder is an excellent striker of the baseball. The hard hitting slugging first baseman gave some impressive results last season and he will be hoping to continue his sensational run this season as well. Although Fielder is a bit heavy, he is athletic enough to be an effective first baseman for the Tigers.
However, several baseball writers and analysts have questioned Miguel Cabrera’s ability to play at the third base position. Batting at the number four slot, Cabrera produced match winning performances last season to let the Tigers win the American League Central division title.
A baseball writer named Joe Sheehan believes that “Cabrera doesn't have the body type of a third baseman. He "assumes" that Cabrera was 255 pounds last year and writes that only two men have been regular third basemen at over 245 pounds.”
Things are not looking very bright for him this season considering the fact he has put on a great amount of weight. According to Leyland, Cabrera has a great arm and the Tigers are confident that he will accommodate Prince Fielder at first base.
"As long as you understand Cabrera is not gonna be Brooks Robinson, we'll be fine," Leyland said. "I know people will write every time a ground ball gets through that Inge could've gotten it. But maybe we got a three- or four-run lead because of that lineup. Cabrera has as good of hands as anybody in our infield, and he has a great arm."
Still only 28-years-old, the Tigers’ third baseman seems to have a lot of baseball left in him. However, he will be looking to lose some weight to be effective at a challenging third base position. Undoubtedly, he has the greatest hitting skills in the game right now. However, he will want to train hard to improve his defensive game play as well.
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