Detroit Tigers first baseman Miguel Cabrera suffered a left knee contusion against the Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday, and it is uncertain when he will return to action.
Continue below for updates:
Cabrera Removed from Game vs. Rays
Sunday, May 22
The Tigers announced the injury, noting Cabrera is considered day-to-day.
Cabrera Is Centerpiece of Tigers Offense
It looks like age is finally catching up with the 33-year-old. Last season was the first time since 2003 that Cabrera played in fewer than 148 games when he was forced out with calf issues.
While on the field, though, he continued to keep up his All-Star-caliber play, hitting .315 with nine home runs and 26 RBI on the season.
This is Cabrera's ninth season with the Tigers, and he has become one of the greatest hitters of this generation. In 2012, he became the first player since Carl Yastrzemski in 1967 to win the batting Triple Crown.
Cabrera has shown time and time again throughout his career that he can hit to all parts of the field with power and consistency. He's led the league in batting average in four of the past five years and has batted under .320 just once in the past seven.
He helped lead the Tigers to four straight playoff appearances from 2011 to 2014, including an American League championship in 2012. But the emergence of the defending World Series champion Kansas City Royals has made the Tigers' stronghold on the American League Central much weaker.
Without their best hitter, the Tigers will have some trouble keeping up with the Royals while Cabrera recovers. Victor Martinez and J.D. Martinez could step into the designated hitter or first baseman role with Cabrera out of the lineup, but it will be difficult to replicate the kind of all-around hitting prowess that he provides.
Stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com
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