The Detroit Tigers' top two sluggers have been recovering from offseason surgeries and finally made their spring debuts on Sunday. First baseman Miguel Cabrera and designated hitter Victor Martinez hope to be ready for Opening Day.
Cabrera was penciled in as the designated hitter in the team's home game against the Washington Nationals while Martinez was the DH in the away game against the Atlanta Braves. Cabrera has been sidelined due to surgery on his foot/ankle and Martinez has been out since February after tearing his meniscus, which required surgery and 4-6 weeks of recovery time.
After going 1-for-3 with a single and two strikeouts, Cabrera told Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press that he is "very positive" he will be ready for Opening Day. He also spoke on behalf of Martinez, who went 0-for-3 with a strikeout in his debut.
"I'm positive we're going to be there," Cabrera said, referring to himself and Victor Martinez, via Jason Beck of MLB.com. "Hopefully we can be 100 percent. Hopefully we can be with the team the first day of the season."
"They were fine," manager Brad Ausmus told Fenech. "They both did well, they looked comfortable at the plate. I was never worried about the hitting, it was just a matter of moving that I was more concerned about."
Fenech noted Cabrera took ground balls after batting practice and was "moving very well." Martinez was also confident about his mobility after playing in a minor league game on Saturday before joining the team.
"Running, I felt better than I have felt since the knee surgery and hitting, it felt good just to hit the ball on the barrel," he said.
Martinez said earlier in the month that he hopes to be ready for Opening Day after getting more reps in batting practice and other running drills. He's perhaps ahead of Cabrera because Martinez doesn't have to worry about playing the field. Cabrera still has a few more games until he will get reps at first base, which makes his timetable for return a bit more questionable. Ausmus said it's better than a 50% chance he'll be ready for Opening Day.
We'll keep monitoring the progress of these two, but right now this is good news for Detroit.
