Tigers hope Cabrera isn’t a distraction

Associated Press

LAKELAND, Fla.

Detroit Tigers manager Jim Leyland is confident that slugger Miguel Cabrera’s arrest this week will have no effect on the team’s performance.

Cabrera was arrested late Wednesday on suspicion of drunken driving in Fort Pierce, about 110 miles southeast of Lakeland, where the Tigers hold spring training.

“It is not going to be a disruption for our team. Trust me,” Leyland emphatically said Friday. “I’m the field manager. I manage the players on the field. Our clubhouse will be great, and our team has a hell of a chance to be an outstanding team.”

Tigers general manager Dave Dombrowski said Thursday he wasn’t sure when Cabrera would report to camp. There was no update from the team Friday.

Pitchers and catchers have been working out this week, but the full team takes the field Saturday, and position players have begun arriving.

Cabrera was “very embarrassed” and planned to apologize to his teammates and the Tigers organization when reporting to camp Saturday, a person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press on Thursday. The person said he talked to Cabrera after the slugger was released from jail, then spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to publicly discuss the incident.

Leyland initially said he wouldn’t discuss Cabrera, but he did talk about his team’s mindset. Some of Cabrera’s teammates appeared stunned by the news.

“It’s not going to affect the team at all,” Leyland said. “You think Magglio Ordonez and those guys are going to go about their business any different?”

Detroit is hoping to contend for the AL Central title after adding players like Victor Martinez and Brad Penny in the offseason. Cabrera is the lineup’s centerpiece. He hit .328 with 38 home runs last year and finished second in the American League MVP vote. “I know for a fact that Miguel Cabrera is in the best shape of his life,” Leyland said. “He’s stronger than he’s ever been, and he’s quicker than he’s ever been.”