In the aftermath of Miguel Cabrera's DUI arrest late Wednesday night, his second alcohol-related arrest in the last 17 months, Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski told ESPN's Jayson Stark (on Twitter) that "right now there's no language that can void [his contract], and we're not trying to do that." Two days ago we heard that some executives believed Detroit would try to make the contract non-guaranteed as a result of the incident.
Cabrera, 28 in April, signed an eight-year, $152.3MM contract extension before the 2008 season, not long after the trade that brought him to Detroit and before he ever played an official game for them. There are still five years and $106MM left on the deal, between $20MM and $22MM annually through 2015. It was the fifth richest contract in baseball history at the time it was signed.
Despite his off-the-field troubles, Cabrera is one of the game's premier sluggers, hitting .328/.420/.622 with career highs in doubles (45) and homers (38) last season. He's hit .317/.392/.558 in his seven full seasons, and his 247 homers before age 28 are the 12th most all-time.
Dombrowski told Tom Gage of The Detroit News and SI.com's Jon Heyman that he'd be surprised if MLB sanctioned Cabrera in any way, though his star first baseman will miss the start of camp to be evaluated by doctors (Twitter links). The absence is not expected to spill over into the regular season.
He needs to get whatever help he needs, regardless of how it affects the season. The organization needs to put Miguel Cabrera first, the team second. Otherwise Cabrera isn’t going to be in any position to help the team.
I disagree. They need to keep them both on the same level. If we focus on Cabby and put the rest of the team to the side, they could start to struggle and get in a bad spot. If Cabrera misses some of the regular season, we need to make sure the team is ready to go.
The FO needs to do all they can for him, but they must make him and the team the same priority level.
Put your best players first. Sorry, that’s just the way it is.
nope put the business first sorry THATS the way it is. This is a business which means they need to worry about making money. Get miggy healthy and field a team that can try to compete without him at the same time. If he cant get his act together its best business wise to cut your ties with a bad investment
This guy was Elijah Dukes and he would be gone, but since he can actually play and has some talent and gets treated with kid gloves.
Pathetic he is.
How is he pathetic in any way? It’s pretty obvious that you don’t know too much about how addiction works. So you probably shouldn’t comment on it.
Oh please. Addiction is fine. Drinking and driving is beyond stupid. I have no sympathy for him at all, or anyone for that matter who gets a DUI.
Spare the “I know all” attitude.
He’s a superstar, throw someone $100 to drive him home and NOT get a DUI.
Once again you prove just how clueless you are about addiction……..
he has a point though. miggy knows he has a problem. He eve stated it a few years ago. Why not at that point hire one of your buddies to drive you around. ITS NOT HARD AT ALL…he admitted he had a problem he should have gone to a real treatment and stayed in treatment. And they team should have hired someone to watch over him its both of their faults
Addiction is america’s blanket scape goat. That scotch didn’t climb down his throat. Cabrera is dumb, immature, and incredibly irresponsible. Therefore he is pathetic and not deserving of respect or sympathy. He is not a victim, he is a man that racks the discipline.
Addiction isn’t fine but I strongly agree with that final part…These guys make so much damn money and they can’t get a driver for a night? Thats just irresponsible.
i bet in your case cabrera wouldnt be pathetic if he was a brave
erm016 – He’s an addict & has a disease & needs treatment. This has nothing to do with willpower or anything else.
So addicted people have no accountability for their behavior or shouldn’t be held responsible for anything?
No, but in this case, nobody got hurt…so what is there to be accountable for? He got caught.
Its because he has to live in Detroit
Wow…because someone has actually been there to see how “bad” it really is. I can name at least four cities worse than Detroit in Michigan alone, so dont give me that bull. Detroit is a great city, and a great sports city at that, and anyone dissing it has obviously never been there…so much ignorance…
Edit to my last post: and if you had any kind of factual knowledge at all, you would know that Miguel Cabrera actually lives in Birmingham, Michigan, which is one of the nicer Detroit suburbs, which there are a lot of nice Detroit suburbs, surprising to some, but true. The ignorant hate around Detroit really ticks me off because there are so many people who haven’t been there and yet think they can take a crack at the city.
u were dead on with these comments. birmingham is not only one of the nice suburbs in detroit, but one of the nicer suburbs in the mid west.
Every city has its nice parts and then you also have the parts that people tend to avoid for various reasons.
A black comedian can make a joke about white people but I doubt the comedian was at one point white…just saying.
what does that have to do with anything?
“The ignorant hate around Detroit really ticks me off because there are so many people who haven’t been there and yet think they can take a crack at the city.”
You don’t have to go there to make a joke about it…it is after all just a joke.
Relax lol, it was just a joke! Obviously there are worse cities than Detroit all over the country but I’m just saying there hasn’t been any positive news out of Detroit in a while…especially when it comes to the economy. At least you aren’t in Cleveland!
I am from the Detroit area and I thought this was hilarious
define “detroit area.” anything north of lapeer or west of ann arbor is not the detroit area.
Agree his recovery is the priority. But his problems are complex. Not every athlete (or anyone for that matter) who has an alcohol problem has repeated physical encounters with the police or situations which are or may border on domestic abuse. He is going to be a tremedous distraction on this team. If the Tigers can’t void his contract, he should take a leave of absence until he truly has his problems under control. Or the Tigers should trade him to some other team with a strong need for his bat and hope the change of scenery along with competent counseling can help heal him emotionally.
He drove drunk, why should I feel sorry for him if he’s addicted to alcohol.
You don’t “have to” feel sorry for him. Just realize, at this point, it’s not in his control. He has serious mental issues that makes him addicted to alcohol, and it’s hard to overcome. Either way, it’s a sad situation for such a great athlete.
Are you trying to say that someone is forcing you to feel sorry for him?
Don’t. I don’t feel sorry for him. I just hope he gets the help he needs and I would offer that same hope to any person who is hurting.
Cabrera’s actions were deplorable. But I’m not going to judge a man until I’ve walked a mile in his shoes. We have no idea what’s going on in his personal life, nor do we deserve to know. But from what I’ve read, I see a man that needs help. As a person that’s experienced how alcoholism can affect a family firsthand, I wish Cabrera the best of luck in figuring things out.
I like this comment. No matter how much money someone has doesnt always mean you have a great life. he is blessed with talent but lacks common sense. he needs help and just because he has a ton of money doesnt mean he isnt human.
Shame some Joe Blow off the street will lose his license and serve jail time + hours upon hours of community service and fines, yet this clown is gonna get off with a slap on the wrist. WTG Cabrera setting a grand example for all the kids.
Alcoholism may be an addiction/disease, but driving drunk just goes to show the lack of brain cells this d-bag has. I know people who make 20k a year and don’t go out drinking without a plan and this clown makes 20 million and can’t have the decency of having a dd/hiring a cab/walking to a hotel to spare the danger to others.
Actually in Florida you harldy ever serve jail time for a 1st time DUI, so there’s that.
And it has already been mentioned that Cabrera will likely lose his liscense for a year, so there’s that too.
He also had to pay a fine, that while is pocket change to him, was near the ceiling in terms of fines for 1st offense.
He will have to enter some sort of 30 day (most likely) treatment program that will probably last right up until the start of the season.
So in terms of 1st offense DUI’s, Cabrera is hardly getting a slap on the wrist. Anyone else would be getting the same punishment.
He may not be able to stop the urge from drinking but im sure the urge to drink and drive could be controlled. He needs to get a personal driver for when he drinks to drive him home. Its that simple. Now about him to control his drinking he should go to a shrink then rehab if his problem escalates. He could have gotten seriously hurt or even worse in a car crash. Josh Hamilton could tell him a thing or two about addiction. Maybe he could help. I dont know but he needs help one way or another. Hope you the best of luck Miguel.
please void his contract…ill give anything to have him on the mets
ill give anything to have him on the mets
Right. Well you better start with your entire salary, then take up a collection, because the Mets are not forking over cash for any elite players this season. It’s all on you bro.
Besides, the Mets already have their highly paid problem-child in K-Rod. Spread the ‘love’ around (someplace else).
Of course the Tigers won’t void Cabrera’s contract – he’s an elite productive ballplayer. Now, if on the other hand he were a scrub, he’d be SOL and they’d void it whether the language was there or not (and take their chances with the appeal process).
Anybody who even thought about the fact that they would consider this is stupid. There is absolutely no reason to even have that thought in your mind. You need to stick with him and get him help, and thats all that you can do. Imagine all of the Tigers fans feeling like Rays fans did with Hamilton. No wonder they dont have any guests. We need this guy, and voiding his contract wont do anything good.
Franchises get rewarded when they stick with a talented player through tough times. As a Royals fan, we watched Zack Greinke walk away from baseball, come back, win a Cy Young, and live happily ever af…. wait… where’d he go?
Stop hating on cabrera!!!!!
Has any team ever even succeeded in voiding a contract after an altercation? I seriously cannot think of any…
Me niether, i imagine if Cabrera misses time for rehab/suspention the Tigers will go the same route as the mets did with K-Rod and not pay him.
Why would they void a player of his magnitude? They essentially have four options in his case.
1.Void his contract, Save 108 mil
2.Trade for half value, pay $35-$50 mil
3.Trade at dead line for 75-100% of value paying 10-30 mil.
4.Suspend him, fine him, make him go to rehab, make him do community service, and hope Espn does a special on how much he’s changed and hope he’s abel to rturn in time to help the tigers make a run at the division title.
They arent going to do any of those four. They will help him, keep him on the team, and let him back when he is ready and has a clear head. Though if he misses time his production will be greatly missed but Strieby will be able to hold the spot for a while.
Strieby’s injured wrist would shatter trying to hack at major league pitching…he is no where near major league level until his wrist heals.
I thought i read a little while ago that it was better and hes ready for a full season.
Could be but i would still rather have him figure out his swing in the minors….He has been playing with that injury for a long time. It has had to have affected his mechanics at the plate to some degree.
I think he is going to need to spend more time in toledo–i know he is 25 but that injury has really set him back some years.
They CAN NOT void his contract, period. Can’t do it. No way to do it legally. None.
He got a DUI during what was still the off season. Not possible even if it was during the season. Total non starter.
Shawn Chacon?
sidney ponson
People need to realize that he is a person. He is a father, husband, friend and he needs help. I dont care who you are, athlete, average Joe, it doesn’t matter. I don’t want to see any of my fellow man hurting. It’s just not good for us as a people.
Having said that, I do not condone what he has done. He is incredibly lucky he dodged theses bullets and didnt hurt himself, or more importantly, someone else. This man needs help. To all of you who are bantering your rhetoric; I seriously hope for your own good that you are perfect because karma has a really funny way of turning tables.
Get help Miguel. My well wishes extend to you and yours as well as any other souls who are battling their own demons. I really hope the best for all who are struggling and trying to find answers.
Anyone know how much this affects his fantasy value?? He was a beast before his first alcohol problem so I’m assuming as long as he gets to play he will put up the same numbers he always does. Good thing Roger Goodell isn’t the commissioner of the MLB or Cabrera would miss at least a good 1/4 of the season.
I think it’s fair to say that if this were the NFL, Miggy might be watching from the dugout for the first quarter of the season. MLB will apparently not be weighing in on this matter, and I’m not sure if that is a good thing or a bad thing.
Miguel needs to have a one on one discussion with Josh Hamilton. Then go his route and have someone there by his side all the time so he doesnt slip up/
well, at least i went almost 12 hours before disqus effed up again
thanks disqus
They won’t try to void his contract. I think the MLBPA would step in before that could even become a realistic option.
Mike Ilitch is also a pretty loyal owner and I don’t see him authorizing the voiding of Cabrera’s contract. The Tigers stood by Cabrera a year and a half ago, when he entered counseling/rehab. I don’t see why they’d suddenly toss him aside now. They’ve got too much money invested in him to abandon him anyway, and I don’t see them trying to trade him.
What I think they should do is hire someone, a la the Rangers and Johnny Narron, someone who can act as a companion and help him to stay sober. They tried to hire Andres Galarraga last winter, but Galarraga didn’t want to leave his family in Venezuela. He did keep in contact with Cabrera throughout the season though, via phone calls, and Cabrera said it helped. I think bringing someone in to stay with him (and his family, if his wife and kids stay with him in-season) might help him even more.
He won’t face jail-time for a first time DUI, especially with no other DUI-related arrests, but he’ll probably lose his license among other things. I wonder if his previous incident from 2009 might play into a judge or prosecutor’s thinking.