How Crazy Is This? Tigers Still Owe Miguel Cabrera Well Over Nine Figures!

By now, you probably know the Tigers' best player and future Hall of Famer, first baseman Miguel Cabrera is out for the season with a ruptured bicep tendon. But it isn't his on-field presence they're going to miss. The problem is how much money they still owe him.How crazy is the financial universe that baseball lives in? I'm not saying Cabrera didn't deserve the contract he signed. But the Tigers still owe him $30 Million A YEAR, for the next 6 years.

Think about that for a second. Cabrera is 35 years old. He will be paid like a superstar until he's 41, whether he plays another inning or not. $30 Million per through 2023. He has been hurt for parts of the past five seasons. While the Tigers expect him to be back healthy next season, this still has to be one of the worst contracts, certainly in the history of the Tigers, if not in all of baseball.

But here's the sobering truth. As much a second guessers like me can complain about a contract like this or of someone like Bobby Bonilla (who gets a million dollars a year until 2035), the fact is what were the Tigers going to do? Flashback to the last decade: If all these high priced players aren't signed to the big contracts, the Tigers, in all likelihood don't win four division titles and play in the World Series in 2012.

So, it's like high stakes poker. If you're going to play with the Yankees and Red Sox of the world, it's going to cost you. In this case, dearly. You gamble. You got some great performances from Cabrera. Yes, he's a first ballot Hall of Famer, but...you still owe him $180 Million Dollars. I'm guessing the Ilitch family has their fingers crossed that Cabrera can become a serviceable designated hitter, though as last night proved, simply batting doesn't guarantee good and consistent health.

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