Ben Zobrist Should Be On Detroit Tigers' Radar In Wake Of Miguel Cabrera's Injury

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Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

Over the past weekend, the Detroit Tigers were dealt one of the most devastating blows imaginable when it was reported that superstar first baseman Miguel Cabrera is expected to miss six weeks with a Grade 3 calf strain. Fortunately for the Tigers, however, they still have a rather potent lineup with players such as Victor Martinez, J.D Martinez and Yoenis Cespedes.

That said, the Tigers still have a massive hole to fill at first base. Since Cabrera’s injury, catcher Alex Avila has started a pair of games at that position, and utility man Andrew Romine received a start there in the series opener against the Seattle Mariners on Monday night. The Tigers also called up Jefry Marte and claimed Marc Krauss off of waivers from the Tampa Bay Rays recently as well.

With the non-waiver trade deadline only three weeks from Friday, however, one has to wonder if the Tigers may begin scouring the trade market to find a more durable band-aid for this situation. If the Tigers become buyers once again, many understandably believe that they should look for another starting pitcher and bullpen upgrades, but it would be hard to fault them for at least entertaining the idea of putting another bat on their wishlist. If they do decide to go after another offensive player, Oakland Athletics jack-of-all-trades Ben Zobrist should most certainly be on their radar.

Now in his 10th MLB season, Zobrist has seen action at seven different positions on the field. Although he has logged the majority of his time at second base, shortstop and the outfield, he could slide into first base with ease. A less likely possibility could perhaps involve Zobrist taking over at third base with Nick Castellanos temporarily moving across the diamond to first. It should probably be noted that the 34-year-old Zobrist has only logged a grand total of 20.1 innings at the hot corner over the course of his career, however.

Obviously, Zobrist wouldn’t replace Cabrera’s productivity at the plate, but the switch-hitter would still give the Tigers an extremely valuable player. After all, since the beginning of the 2011 season, Zobrist ranks eighth among all qualified position players in the game with a 23.6 fWAR. The fact that he was teammates with David Price for so many years in Tampa Bay could help make the transition to Detroit easier as well.

The Tigers still have a little bit of time to assess whether or not their current players will be enough to make up for the loss of Cabrera, but they should certainly start keeping an eye on Zobrist. Detroit would be hard-pressed to find a more well-rounded player.

Brad Faber is a Senior Writer and Sabermetrics Columnist for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @Brad Faber or “Like” him on Facebook.

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