Cabrera 10-5 rights

[Oblong]

Cabrera came up in June of 2003 and 2012 was his 10th season and 5th with the Tigers, I assume 2003 isn't counted as a full season, so would he obtain his 10-5 no trade rights in June of this year? Not that I want want him to be traded but I do wonder if they can keep him after 2015 if they do sign Verlander to a $200 million deal and will be paying Prince $24 million through 2020. And if they do win a WS before then will the urgency be there? He'll be 32 entering free agency, like Pujols. So if they decide they don't want to sign him or can't, then he'd be able to block trades.

The Prince signing always bothered me for the very reason I fear it means Cabrera ends his career in another uniform.

[Motor City Sonics]

Cabrera came up in June of 2003 and 2012 was his 10th season and 5th with the Tigers, I assume 2003 isn't counted as a full season, so would he obtain his 10-5 no trade rights in June of this year? Not that I want want him to be traded but I do wonder if they can keep him after 2015 if they do sign Verlander to a $200 million deal and will be paying Prince $24 million through 2020. And if they do win a WS before then will the urgency be there? He'll be 32 entering free agency, like Pujols. So if they decide they don't want to sign him or can't, then he'd be able to block trades.

The Prince signing always bothered me for the very reason I fear it means Cabrera ends his career in another uniform.

But if the team does win the World Series in the next couple of years, and then the team starts to break apart, wasn't it worth it?



I just say, don't worry about 2015. Enjoy this time now, the next two seasons. Soak it all in and enjoy it - no reason to worry.

[Gehringer_2]

Cabrera came up in June of 2003 and 2012 was his 10th season and 5th with the Tigers, I assume 2003 isn't counted as a full season, so would he obtain his 10-5 no trade rights in June of this year? Not that I want want him to be traded but I do wonder if they can keep him after 2015 if they do sign Verlander to a $200 million deal and will be paying Prince $24 million through 2020. And if they do win a WS before then will the urgency be there? He'll be 32 entering free agency, like Pujols. So if they decide they don't want to sign him or can't, then he'd be able to block trades.

The Prince signing always bothered me for the very reason I fear it means Cabrera ends his career in another uniform.

BR lists Cabby's service time as 9 yrs, 101 days going into this season. I think 172 days is an MLB yr, so that would put him 71 days away, or June 10/11 maybe?

[tiger337]

I think Cabrera's value to the Tigers goes beyond his great hitting. Detroit seems to have become the preferred location for Venezuelan players and he is probably a big reason for that. I also wonder whether they will be able to keep both him and Fielder long term though.

[TigersSlappy]

I think Cabrera's value to the Tigers goes beyond his great hitting. Detroit seems to have become the preferred location for Venezuelan players and he is probably a big reason for that. I also wonder whether they will be able to keep both him and Fielder long term though.

If they continue to draw 3 million+ and are able to sweeten their local TV deal a bit they should be able to.

[tiger337]

If they continue to draw 3 million+ and are able to sweeten their local TV deal a bit they should be able to.

Teams can do a lot of things if their owner decides to spend. The Cardinals have been drawing 3 million+ for years and their payroll is a lot lower. I think it depends on the health of Ilitch.

[Antrat]

If we get a World Series and have to trade him afterwards to refill our system, that wouldn't be the end of the world.

[Casimir]

The Prince signing always bothered me for the very reason I fear it means Cabrera ends his career in another uniform.

Don't forget the upcoming Verlander contract as well. Someone find Mr Ilitch the fountain of youth and get him through the Verlander & Cabrera contracts.

[Keepleyland2]

Don't forget the upcoming Verlander contract as well. Someone find Mr Ilitch the fountain of youth and get him through the Verlander & Cabrera contracts.

I think it might impact one, but probably not both. Even if you take prince 25 and one of JV or Cabby's 24. That puts your team payroll at $50 million. Even if we were to drop back to a middle of the pack payroll at abuot $90 million. That still leaves $40 million for the other 23 guys. An average of 1.7 million. Not the best in the world. But with 5 guys making the league minimum on sad team that leves more than $2 million on average for the other 18 guys. I best you could field a decent team.

[Oblong]

I don't think the team would have signed Fielder if they knew it meant not being able to afford both Verlander and Cabrera long term. Obviously just because you are willing to keep them doesn't mean you will keep them. I'm not as worried about losing Verlander as much as Cabrera because I think the team values him more. What does worry me about JV is I know he's a big union guy and may feel a responsibility to hit FA knowing he can raise the bar for everybody else. I don't think we'd see any hometown discounts on his part, nor should he do that. It's a business.

[John_Brian_K]

A team without Cabrera is not the end of the world, but that being said I do not want to think of him in any other uniform. He is the best hitter I have ever seen play for the Tigers. Luckily we do not have to worry about it for a couple years. I, do, hope he stays.

[4hzglory]

Even if we were to drop back to a middle of the pack payroll at abuot $90 million

The middle of the pack is going to be $110 mil pretty soon. The increased revenue makes a huge difference and like Oblong, I think they are able to sign both long term, the question will become if they want to. Verlander's deal is going to be huge in $ and years. I could see Cabrera giving a bit of a discount in years (5-6 instead of 8) because of comfort level. He just seems like someone who values comfort a bit more than getting the most $ and years he can get. I also think that if they got to the point where they didn't want to afford all 3, they would make an effort to and be successful in trading Prince before trading Cabrera.

[John_Brian_K]

How hard is it to be an agent for a guy like Cabrera? Doesn't he have someone he knows as an agent? Someone from Venezuela?

I was just thinking about this. For a guy like Cabby how hard would it be to just look at the numbers guys are getting and try to get the most per year...add in some of the typical bonus stuff. Fielder is getting 23 a year, Pujols contract is stupid....Cabby is worth at least 25 a year for the next 4-5 years, but if he wants extra years like Pujols...things could get ugly.

I could easily see, and be 100% happy with, a deal like (as of right now coming off a TC/MVP season):

2016: 25
2017: 25
2018: 27
2019: 27
2020: 29
2021: 30
2022: 30

193 mil over 7 years

But how do you accept that if you are his agent when the contracts are getting so high?

[Turnbuckle]

But if the team does win the World Series in the next couple of years, and then the team starts to break apart, wasn't it worth it?



I just say, don't worry about 2015. Enjoy this time now, the next two seasons. Soak it all in and enjoy it - no reason to worry.

This is a common fault of us fans. We rarely enjoy what we have until it's gone. I mean, I love the team but I know I'm taking for granted what we have.

[HeyAbbott]

I think Cabrera's value to the Tigers goes beyond his great hitting. Detroit seems to have become the preferred location for Venezuelan players and he is probably a big reason for that. I also wonder whether they will be able to keep both him and Fielder long term though.

Some days I really feel old. Cabrera, Fielder and Verlander are very improtant pieces for 2013 and 2014. After that, I think it makes sense to consider trading them, as the parts they garner in trade might be worth more than their projected performance at that time.

But, in the end, 2 years is a long time. I might as well enjoy the show the next 2 years.

[hammb]

Some days I really feel old. Cabrera, Fielder and Verlander are very improtant pieces for 2013 and 2014. After that, I think it makes sense to consider trading them, as the parts they garner in trade might be worth more than their projected performance at that time.

But, in the end, 2 years is a long time. I might as well enjoy the show the next 2 years.

Maybe it's just me, but I think Verlander & Cabrera will always mean more to Detroit than they do on the field or what their trade value would dictate. I think they should be paid (overpaid?) whatever it takes to keep them in Detroit. These guys are Hall of Fame caliber talents that have played their prime in Detroit, have helped revive Detroit baseball, and have been the faces of the franchise for years. If I'm the GM I give them whatever it takes knowing that I may not get on field production commensurate with what they're being paid. But I also go in knowing that both retire as Tigers, go into the Hall as Tigers, and will have statues in Comerica Park.

There is value in that to me that far exceeds what they could bring back in a trade.

[TStar]

They'll both stay and be re-signed. Can you name 1 star player from the Tigers or Red Wings under the Ilitch era they wanted to keep but couldn't? Closest I can come up with is Fedorov, and Ilitch didn't really want to keep him (if the stories I hear are true).