Miguel Cabrera (2008-current)

Subject: Re: Miguel Cabrera (2008-current) Wed Dec 12, 2007 7:14 pm

They are worse than the DTE Energy Squad! Which is saying something!

Subject: Re: Miguel Cabrera (2008-current) Wed Dec 12, 2007 9:24 pm

Mermaids

Subject: Re: Miguel Cabrera (2008-current) Wed Dec 12, 2007 9:26 pm

Subject: Re: Miguel Cabrera (2008-current) Wed Dec 12, 2007 9:32 pm

Okay, Mermaids Rolling Eyes

Subject: Re: Miguel Cabrera (2008-current) Wed Dec 12, 2007 9:50 pm

Well, we can fill our stadium without the extras like mermaids. We go to see great players!

Subject: Re: Miguel Cabrera (2008-current) Wed Dec 12, 2007 9:55 pm

Those fish need all the help they can get LMAO

It's too cold for mermaids in Detroit anyways.

Subject: Re: Miguel Cabrera (2008-current) Wed Dec 12, 2007 10:09 pm

Subject: Re: Miguel Cabrera (2008-current) Wed Dec 12, 2007 10:14 pm

Subject: Re: Miguel Cabrera (2008-current) Wed Dec 12, 2007 11:00 pm

Subject: Re: Miguel Cabrera (2008-current) Thu Dec 13, 2007 2:25 am

Cold at Comerica Park? Quote the Raven never more! Comerica Park will be hot like Miami all season.

Subject: Re: Miguel Cabrera (2008-current) Thu Dec 13, 2007 2:26 am

83 degrees Opening Day

Subject: Re: Miguel Cabrera (2008-current) Thu Dec 13, 2007 12:24 pm

Subject: Re: Miguel Cabrera (2008-current) Thu Dec 13, 2007 4:29 pm

They would be frozen delights LMAO

Subject: Re: Miguel Cabrera (2008-current) Fri Dec 14, 2007 10:59 am

Subject: Re: Miguel Cabrera (2008-current) Fri Dec 14, 2007 10:59 am

MiggyC.....from Fish

to

Subject: Re: Miguel Cabrera (2008-current) Fri Dec 14, 2007 11:27 am

Subject: Re: Miguel Cabrera (2008-current) Fri Dec 14, 2007 12:06 pm

_________________
bow

Subject: Re: Miguel Cabrera (2008-current) Sat Dec 15, 2007 11:36 pm

New numbers, and other questions
Posted by Danny Knobler December 10, 2007 12:07PM

DETROIT -- Some questions are easy to answer, some not so easy.

But here's one answer I was able to get quickly from the Tigers: Miguel Cabrera will be wearing uniform number 24, just as he did in Florida. Edgar Renteria will be #8, and Jacque Jones will be #19 (wonder if he knows that was the cursed Juan Gonzalez number?). No decision yet on Dontrelle Willis, because he wore 35 in Florida but that belongs to Justin Verlander.

Some other questions that have come up in the last few days:

-- Yes, Brandon Inge would make a nice super-utility guy, but get over it. It's not happening, and it wasn't going to happen no matter what Inge told the Tigers. They began their efforts to trade him the minute the Cabrera-Willis trade was done. They don't want his $6 mill a year on their payroll, and they know there's no way a guy who has been a full-time starter for several years is going to go back to a utility role with the same team.

-- Yes, they did (briefly) discuss the idea of having Inge eventually replace Pudge as the catcher, but dismissed it. He doesn't want to catch. Yes, the idea of Cabrera in left field came up (with Inge staying at third), but they dismissed that, too. Remember, they want Cabrera to stay here for a long time. Supposedly, he's not excited about playing the outfield. There are even questions about whether he can play the outfield anymore. Not going to happen. For now, Cabrera is the third baseman. If he's moving anywhere, it's to first base, with Guillen shifting to third.

-- Edward Campusano is no longer a Tiger. He was the Rule 5 pick last year. He got hurt in spring training. They could have kept him on the roster, but they didn't. He's gone, and it will go down as (a very small amount of) wasted money.

-- No, you're not going to get Dan Haren for anything the Tigers could offer. If Oakland does trade Haren (and it's still not a certainty that the A's will move him), it means they're rebuilding and would want cheap young prospects. As you might have noticed, the Tigers just traded their cheap young prospects. Yes, the Tiger rotation remains a question, but they're going to have to count on Willis, Bonderman etc. to rebound.

Subject: Re: Miguel Cabrera (2008-current) Wed Dec 19, 2007 8:47 am

Approximately 5 prospects would do it.

Now he can retire in Arizona with the Big Unit!!

Subject: Re: Miguel Cabrera (2008-current) Thu Dec 20, 2007 12:20 pm

Hey, guys, I just got a message from "***Miggy***" on Myspace. Do we think it's really HIM???????? There are some pics on there that I don't think just ANYONE would have. I wonder.
_________________

I've come to the conclusion that the two most important things in life are good friends and a good bullpen. ~Bob Lemon, 1981

Subject: Re: Miguel Cabrera (2008-current) Wed Dec 26, 2007 1:32 pm

I hope it said something like, "I'm so happy to be a TIGER I'm gonna sign with them long-term at a fair price"!!

Subject: Is Cabrera living too large? Fri Dec 28, 2007 11:23 pm

Is Cabrera living too large?

By Jorge Arangure Jr.
ESPN The Magazine

Editor's Note: This story appears in the July 30 edition of ESPN The Magazine.

It's not hard to argue that Miguel Cabrera is baseball's best young hitter.

With a .324 batting average and 18 homers at the All-Star break, the 24-year-old Cabrera is more than living up to the promise the Marlins saw when they paid him $1.8 million for his signature eight years ago after a fabled tryout on a dusty field in Maracay, Venezuela. Even now, in his fifth big league season, Cabrera is five days younger than the National League's hottest rookie, Houston's Hunter Pence. Life is good.

Except for one thing: Florida fans from Hialeah to Homestead are wondering if he's eating his way out of an all-time great career. When Cabrera brushed off a knockdown pitch and stunned Yankees ace Roger Clemens with a first-inning homer in Game 4 of the 2003 World Series, the 20-year-old Marlin was listed at 6'2", 185 pounds. When he reported to camp this spring, according to credible sources, he weighed 260. His range and agility are clearly compromised; his 13 errors ties him for the lead among major league third basemen. Which raises the inevitable question: With a couple of big-money arbitration seasons looming before his walk year in 2009, how much is this going to cost Cabrera? "I doubt the weight will scare anybody," says an NL general manager. "The numbers speak!" So we'll let them.

250
Walking through the Marlins' clubhouse in late June, Cabrera is wearing a white tank top (snug) and a pair of gray sweats (tight).

He's tipping the scales at 250 these days, down a bit from March but still making it hard to imagine the lean body that once attracted so much attention in Maracay. Baseball has a rich history of heavy hitters, from Babe Ruth to Prince Fielder. But Cabrera doesn't aspire to that. When Ozzie Guillén, his countryman, called him out recently, warning he ultimately may be perceived as "a fat boy from Venezuela," Cabrera was hurt but declined to lash back.

"If he says I have to lose weight," Miggy says, "then maybe I do."

.311/30/116
The statistical website baseball-reference.com lists a group of players whom Cabrera most resembled at age 23: Hank Aaron, Orlando Cepeda, Frank Robinson, Joe Medwick and Mickey Mantle. All are Hall of Famers.

"I think he's one of those players who comes along only every 20 years," says Marlins utilityman Alfredo Amézaga. "He's different from the rest of us. He does things so easily. He adjusts to pitchers so quickly. To me, that's incredible, because the hardest thing to do in sports is hit. It appears that for him, it isn't." Cabrera jacked a walk-off homer in his first major league game, at age 20.

He was an All-Star at 21 and became a team leader at 22, when Florida's veteran players were traded en masse. In a game last year, he reached out and got the winning hit even though the pitcher was trying to intentionally walk him. By the end of the 2006 season, Cabrera was averaging .311 with 30 homers and 116 RBIs through his first four years. "A lot of times, people see him laughing and joking around on TV," says Marlins ace and good buddy Dontrelle Willis. "But I tell everyone he's a genius at this game."

550
Venezuela's signature fast food is the arepa, a cornmeal pocket stuffed with a savory filling, usually grilled in a light coating of oil. Depending on the filling, a snack of arepas can pack 550 calories or more. The arepa, rather than hard cheese, is Cabrera's weakness.

"People are worried about me," he acknowledges. "I don't have to take it negatively. You have to respectfully listen to advice. But right now I'm feeling fine. Hopefully, it doesn't affect me in the future."

When asked about Cabrera, several executives for other teams mention his reputation for enjoying South Florida's abundant night life. Cabrera says he spends most of his free time with his wife, Rosangel, and 1-year-old daughter, also Rosangel.

"Like any young guy, he's probably done some things where our organization has said, 'Hey, Miggy, take care of yourself,'" says Dan Jennings, the Marlins VP of player personnel. "I think everybody has to hear that in life. When you're a superstar, it probably gets magnified a little bit."

222
IN 2002, at Class-A Jupiter (Fla.), manager Luis Dorante made Cabrera step on a scale every morning when he arrived at the ballpark. Then, under the hot Florida sun, Dorante hit Cabrera hundreds of ground balls until the kid nearly collapsed. "When you work a lot in Florida, you're going to lose weight," Dorante says now. "I think he's going to beat it." Cabrera's agent, Fernando Cuza, says his client is trying to cut down on sugar and carbohydrates. Cabrera's goal: to get down to the 222 pounds that is supposed to be the ideal weight for a man his height. "When you're 18, 19 years old, you can eat all the sugar, rice and beans and everything you want," Cuza says. "But as you get older, you have to make certain adjustments."

$1
Willis and Amézaga have taken advantage of an empty locker in the Marlins' clubhouse, opening the Martin Luther King/Julio César Chávez Grocery Store and selling goodies to teammates. Candy bars are $1, with the proceeds going to buy more sweets. Cabrera's locker is just a few feet away; he is, literally, a kid in a candy store.

.736
Cabrera's zone rating -- the percentage of balls fielded by a player in his particular area -- has decreased from a high of .809 in 2003 to a career low of .736 this season. Last year, Marlins lefty Scott Olsen criticized him for playing lackadaisical defense. (Olsen later apologized.) "He's a large man and he's got reactionary quickness, and that's good," Jennings says. "I think he's working to maintain his body so it will allow him to stay at third. He's never going to be an Adonis. He's never going to be body beautiful. If he maintains his quickness and gets himself in the best shape he can, I think he's going to be fine."

$200M
Here is what's at stake, besides a young man's health: Cabrera's potential to sign a $200 million deal, joining A-Rod in the game's highest salary bracket. History says he'll have to go elsewhere to get it. "I'd love to stay here," Cabrera says. "Hopefully, we can keep this team together. It's a young team with a good future." He'll be worth more as a third baseman than as a first baseman or DH. But showcasing his strong arm will depend on the position he plays, which depends on how he takes care of himself.

"His weight is a major issue," says an American League GM, contradicting his NL counterpart. "Teams would also be concerned about his weight at the end of a long-term contract. He needs to make some lifestyle changes." If he does, the numbers will take care of themselves.

Jorge Arangure Jr. is a senior writer for ESPN The Magazine.

Subject: Jose Miguel Torres Cabrera bio Sat Dec 29, 2007 1:17 am

From: http://www.jockbio.com/Bios/Cabrera/Cabrera_bio.html

Some say the best way out of a slump is to keep things simple, to imagine swinging a bat in your own backyard. For Miguel Cabrera, the precocious power source of the Florida Marlins, this requires little in the way of a stretched imagination—he literally grew up on the other side of the knothole from his city’s baseball stadium. Youth was served in Miguel’s rapid rise to the majors, but did anyone expect him to be batting cleanup in the World Series before he could take a legal drink? Actually, Yes. This is his story…

Jose Miguel Torres Cabrera was born on April 18, 1983 in Maracay, Venezuela. Baseball was in his blood from the time he entered the world. His parents, Miguel and Gregoria, met on a baseball diamond. Both had been excellent players in their day. Miguel’s father was a highly regarded amateur player whose dreams of a pro career ultimately went unfulfilled. Miguel’s mother was the shortstop on the Venezuelan national softball team for 14 years, and continues to tutor kids in Maracay. Her brother, David Torres, signed with the Cardinals and made it to Class-AA before his career stalled.

Miguel grew up as a baseball brat. When he wasn’t toddling around the dugout at Gregoria’s games or playing with his father and uncle, all he had to do to watch a game was hop the fence that separated his backyard from the rightfield line at Maracay Stadium, which was later named for Uncle David, who died of a heart attack in 1997. In the year before his passed away, Torres worked with Miguel almost every day, imparting to him his baseball wisdom and warning him of the pitfalls a young Venezuelan could expect to encounter in North American baseball.

For the Cabreras, life revolved around family—and baseball. Miguel lived with his mom and dad and younger sister Ruth in the La Padrera neighborhood, a poor area of his hometown. They were very close and got along with each other very well—provided the kids obeyed their parents and worked hard in school. Miguel’s father, now an auto mechanic, remembered the heartbreak of his fizzled baseball career. He didn’t want the same thing for his son, so he asked Miguel to focus on becoming an engineer. But the youngster couldn’t stop thinking about baseball. He often fantasized about following in his footsteps of Dave Concepcion. The shortstop for Cincinnati’s Big Red Machine in the 1970s, he was also a native of Maracay.

Basketball and volleyball also occupied Miguel’s time, but his thoughts were riveted to baseball throughout his childhood. By the age of six he was good enough to play in national competitions, and even confided in his grandmother, Norbeta, that he wanted to play in the big leagues. Miguel and Ruth spent a good part of their childhood practicing with a stick as a bat and a wad of paper as a baseball. By the time Miguel reached his teenage years, Concepcion had become his primary mentor. Unlike the stick-thin rookie who debuted for the Reds in 1970, Miguel was already stocky and powerful, Though he possessed only average speed, he had a strong arm and a potent bat.

By the age 14, Miguel was confident enough in his abilities to tell his father that he had decided to pursue a pro career. The elder Cabrera said he would support his son, provided his schoolwork didn’t slip and he got his high-school diploma.

The baseball bird dogs had already started sniffing around after Miguel at this point. The Minnesota Twins sent their scouting director, Mike Radcliff, to Venezuela to evaluate him. The New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers were also hot on Miguel’s trail. His favorite team was the Florida Marlins. He watched them win the 1997 World Series with key contributions from fellow Latinos Livan Hernandez and Edgar Renteria.

Florida scout Louie Eljaua held a workout for Miguel, who amazed him with his maturity and power. Eljaua called the Marlins brass, and implored them to get out their checkbook. The bidding war for Miguel escalated when the Dodgers and Yankees both intimated they’d go as high as $2 million.

The Marlins, however, had the inside track. Their offer—$1.8 million—was more than generous enough, but Miguel’s parents were most impressed by the team’s commitment to developing young Hispanic players. Miguel had to wait until after his 16th birthday to sign, and in the meantime accelerated his education. When he signed with Florida in July of 1999, rumor has it that George Steinbrenner was so furious that he fired three of his Venezuela scouts.

That summer, still a year away from joining the Marlins, Miguel picked up invaluable experience playing for the equivalent of a farm team in Venezuela’s Winter League.

Miguel was assigned to Florida’s team in the rookie-level Gulf Coast League to start the 2000 campaign. At 6-2 and 185 pounds, he was bigger than most prospects from Latin American countries. His skills were also advanced. Miguel had a wonderful feel for the strike zone, could spray the ball to all fields and responded well in the clutch. Defensively, he was somewhat limited at shortstop, but he had good hands and a rifle for an arm.

In 57 games in the GCL, Miguel hit .260, and showed gap power with 10 doubles, two triples and two home runs. He also scored 38 runs and drove in 22. The Marlins rewarded Miguel by promoting him to Utica of the Class A New York Penn League. There, in eight games, he batted .250 with six RBIs.

Miguel spent another off-season in winter ball back home in Venezuela. With a month to go in the campaign, he was called up to the Aragua Tigers, who installed him as their starting shortstop in place of Giomar Guevara. The teenager never blinked in the face of the pressure. In 27 games against what amounted to Triple A competition, he posted a respectable .253 average.

Heading into 2001, Miguel was ready for another important year in his development. The Marlins bumped him up to the Kane County Cougars of the Class A Midwest League. Teamed with first baseman Adrian Gonzalez, the first overall pick in the 2000 draft, Miguel began the season at shortstop. Cougar manager Russ Mormon was charged with ushering both blue-chip prospects along on their way to the majors.

For Miguel, the ’01 campaign got off to a rocky start. Through the season’s first month, he was slumping at the plate, and lost in the field. By early May, he had already committed 19 errors. Some in the organization wondered whether he wouldn’t be better served by a move to third base.

But Miguel fought through his struggles. Hitting coach Matt Winters helped by changing the youngster’s stance slightly, convincing him to be taller and more upright in the batter’s box. Over the next two months, Miguel raised his batting average to .279. He was most dangerous with runners on base. In one 37-game stretch, he drove home 35 runs, and hit .467 with the bases loaded. Miguel also solved his problems in the field, cutting down significantly on his miscues.

In July, he and Gonzalez were both selected for the Futures Game during the All-Star weekend in Seattle. The Marlins, meanwhile, were thrilled that the pair had become close friends. Miguel was still learning the English language, so the California-born Gonzalez was the perfect running mate for him.

For perhaps the first time in his young career, Miguel showed some nerves. Stepping onto Safeco Field was an eye-opening experience for him. So was seeing Alex Rodriguez in person. As the DH for the World team, he went 0-for-2 with a walk. His hitless day was also partly the result of his cross-country journey to the Great Northwest. Miguel had suffered from a stiff back earlier in the year, and switching planes a couple of times didn’t exactly loosen it up.

The rest of 2001 proceeded a lot smoother for Miguel. He ended the year at .268 with 30 extra-base hits and 66 RBIs. He also distinguished himself in the field with the strongest arm in the Midwest League.

After another off-season of winter ball, Miguel joined the Jupiter Hammerheads of the higher Class A Florida State League. There he transitioned to a new position, third base. The Marlins actually instituted the change in spring training, at the request of assistant coach Ozzie Guillen. The former All-Star shortstop had followed Miguel’s progress closely through the minors, and felt he was better suited for the hot corner. Interested in finding the fastest path to the majors, Miguel didn’t fight the move at all.

While the defensive adjustment to third took some time, Miguel didn’t skip a beat at the plate. By July, his average stood at .277, and he led the Hammerheads with 45 RBIs. For the second year in a row, Miguel got the nod for the Futures Game. More relaxed this time around, he picked up two singles for the World team.

By this time, Miguel was also adjusting to married life. On June 17, he tied the knot with Rosangel, his high school sweetheart. The couple exchanged vows in a civil ceremony.

Miguel stayed hot over the final months for Jupiter. In 124 games, he batted .274, and added 43 doubles and 75 RBIs. Though his power had yet to show itself—Miguel recorded only nine HRs in 489 ABs—the Marlins weren’t concerned. Miguel’s knowledge of the strike zone was excellent, and it was only a matter of time before he began driving the ball.

The Marlins and Miguel figured he would spend at least one more season in the minors developing his power stroke. He started the 2003 campaign with the Carolina Mudcats of the Double-A Carolina League. Among his teammates was a high-kicking, crooked-hat-wearing lefty named Dontrelle Willis. The two made life for Carolina manager Tracy Woodson very easy. Both had big-league talent, and were willing to work hard on their weaknesses. Not that either showed many.

Midway through June, Miguel was tearing up the CL. In April, he hit .402, and by June his average stood at .365, with 10 homers and 59 RBIs.

MAKING HIS MARK

Things weren’t going nearly as well for the Marlins. For the first time since their 1997 championship, the team had entered the season with an eye toward the playoffs. The lineup was solid with centerfielder Juan Pierre and second baseman Luis Castillo unnerving pitchers with their speed at the top of the lineup, and catcher Pudge Rodriguez, third baseman Mike Lowell and first baseman Derek Lee forming the heart of the order. At shortstop, Alex Gonzalez provided flashy defense and surprising power. The pitching staff was stacked with young arms. Josh Beckett, A.J. Burnett, Brad Penny, Mark Redman and Carl Pavano constituted one of the most promising rotations in the league, while Braden Looper was at times unhittable out of the pen.

But manager Jeff Torborg couldn’t get the pieces to fit. Injuries played a role, but the Marlins hadn’t clicked when healthy, either. By early May, Florida was languishing six games under .500, and sinking in the standings beneath the Atlanta Braves and Philadelphia Phillies. The front office tried everything to jump-start the club. In May, with Willis pitching lights-out in Carolina, the Marlins called up the lefty. Two days later, Torborg was fired, and replaced by 72-year-old Jack McKeon.

McKeon’s unconventional managing style stirred up the Marlins, who began turning things around. But the club was still losing as often as it won. Looking for another spark, Florida made another bold move. On June 20, the team promoted Miguel to the big leagues. Lowell was having a sensational year at third, so the Marlins plugged the 21-year-old into leftfield.

Woodson had been preparing Miguel for this shift in Carolina, but he was still learning the ropes. The Marlins asked Andre Dawson to take a break from his front office job and tutor the youngster. Miguel took well to the lessons, picking up valuable insight about breaking on flyballs, throwing to the correct base and aligning himself properly against different hitters.

Miguel’s debut came in an interleague game against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Hitless in his first four at-bats, including a groundout in the bottom of the ninth with two runners on, he launched a walk-off home run to dead center in the 11th off Al Levine. As Miguel and his teammates celebrated, the stats freaks hit the record books. Miguel was the sixth-youngest player
to homer in his first game, behind Scott Stratton (1888), Whitey Lockman (1945), Denny McLain (1963), Ted Tappe (1950) and Clint Hurdle (1977). He was also the third Venezuelan player to go deep in his debut, joining Alex Cabrera and his teammate, Alex Gonzalez.

Miguel’s father didn’t learn any of this until the following day. He had been tracking the game over the Internet, but fell asleep after the ninth. When he read the headlines the next morning, he bought every newspaper at his local bodega.

Miguel hit safely in four of his next five games, then went 0-for-15 to end the month. The rookie made the necessary adjustments and opened July with a four-hit, four-RBI effort against the Braves, the top team in the N.L. East, and remained hot all month long, batting .318 with five homers, eight doubles and 21 runs knocked in. He was named the league’s Rookie of the
Month, following the lead of Willis, who had earned the honor in June.

With Miguel helping to re-energize the Marlins, the team started a run for the Wild Card. Florida suffered a setback when Lowell went down with a broken bone in his left hand, but GM Larry Beinfest swung into action with a trade for Jeff Conine. A member of the 1997 World Series champs, Comine assumed the leftfield job and Miguel came in to play third. Beinfest also acquired Ugueth Urbina to solidify the bullpen.

Subject: Re: Miguel Cabrera (2008-current) Sat Dec 29, 2007 3:04 am

So what if he weighs 250 pounds! Being fat didn't stop Babe Ruth from hitting 714 home runs! Least we don't have to worry about Cabrera taking steroids!

Subject: Re: Miguel Cabrera (2008-current) Sat Dec 29, 2007 10:03 am

But it does hurt in playing 3rd base!

Subject: Re: Miguel Cabrera (2008-current) Sat Dec 29, 2007 8:39 pm

News is that Miggy has already shed about 25 pounds this off-season.
He should be fine.....

Subject: Re: Miguel Cabrera (2008-current) Sat Dec 29, 2007 10:20 pm

I agree, he does not want Inge taking his new place.

Subject: Re: Miguel Cabrera (2008-current) Tue Jan 01, 2008 11:40 pm

I've been watching some of last seasons Marlins games on MLB and we are gonna LOVE Cabrera! He hits pitchers hard from both leagues!!!!

Subject: Re: Miguel Cabrera (2008-current) Tue Jan 01, 2008 11:49 pm

that is good news, especially as I've been watching some of our guys from spring training games in 2007. We really need strength on the mound! (Justin, PLEASE don't go anywhere!)
_________________
There are three things in my life which I really love: God, my family, and baseball. The only problem - once baseball season starts, I change the order around a bit. ~Al Gallagher, 1971

Already playing, new Tiger Miguel Cabrera anxious for '08 season

January 8, 2008
BY JON-PAUL MOROSI
FREE PRESS SPORTS WRITER

The Tigers’ 2007 season ended more than three months ago. Opening Day is a little less than three months away.

And their new third baseman is still playing.

Or should we say that he’s already playing?

Either way, it’s clear that Detroit third baseman Miguel Cabrera is serious about his preparations for the 2008 season.

Cabrera played seven regular season games for Tigres de Aragua in the
Venezuelan Winter League and has also played for the club during round-robin postseason games. He batted .375 during the regular season games.

Cabrera’s weight has been mentioned as a concern by some in the industry. However, Detroit club president/general manager Dave Dombrowski said at the time of last month’s trade with the Marlins that Cabrera had lost 15 pounds since the end of the season. Cabrera, 24, has spent time working out in both Miami and Venezuela this winter.