Tigers' Cabrera 'in shock' over season-ending injury
With one swing of the bat, Detroit Tigers first baseman Miguel Cabrera ruptured a tendon in his left biceps Tuesday, ending his season.
A day later, the 35-year-old still couldn't believe what happened.
"I'm like in shock right now," Cabrera told reporters Wednesday, "because I'm not going to be able to play anymore this year. It's tough. In the same way, I have to go and fix it and try to come back healthy."
Cabrera was hurt while swinging and missing on a third-inning pitch by Minnesota Twins right-hander Jake Odorizzi. Cabrera will undergo season-ending surgery in New York on Thursday, with the expected timetable for his return to baseball activities set at six months, according to Tigers trainer Doug Teter.
Cabrera will rehab in Detroit instead of back home in Miami in order to remain around the club.
"He feels bad for the team," Teter said. "It's a common thing when somebody gets hurt, a season-ending kind of injury, where they think they're letting the team down. You see it over and over. You get through that first acceptance of the injury, and then you push forward through the rehab with the goal of coming back. That's all you can do.
"You have general timelines you want to stick to, but you take the rehab and injury as it comes, and you move forward with what the body gives you. There's going to be bad days. There's going to be good days."
Cabrera, an 11-time All-Star and two-time American League MVP, missed three games from April 30-May 2 due to a left biceps spasm. He returned to go 1-for-4 on May 3 against the Kansas City Royals, then landed on the disabled list for four weeks due to a right hamstring strain.
From his arrival in the majors with the then-Florida Marlins in June 2003 until the middle of the 2015 season, Cabrera was never on the disabled list. However, he was limited to 119 games in 2015 due to a calf injury, and he played just 130 games in 2017 because of a groin injury.
His 38 games played this season represent a career-low.
"I have to saddle up, have to stay positive, move forward with what the doctor's going to say," Cabrera said.
--Field Level Media
