Ausmus Confirms Cabrera Suffering From Bone Spur, Aggravated Injury Sunday
By Ashley Dunkak
@AshleyDunkak
CBS DETROIT - It has been obvious for a while that Detroit Tigers first baseman Miguel Cabrera will once again finish a season in pain.
Last season Cabrera played through an injury that required offseason core muscle repair surgery, and this season he has been bothered by an ankle problem that has sapped some of his power at the plate and limited him to hobbling around the bases.
ESPN's Buster Olney reported Sunday that Cabrera suffers from bone spurs in the ankle and will likely have surgery in the offseason. Tigers manager Brad Ausmus discussed Olney's report after the game. Ausmus confirmed Cabrera has a bone spur but denied the Tigers have made any decision on surgery.
"As long as I've known Buster, I don't know where he's getting that," Ausmus said. "We don't know if he requires surgery. We don't know if it's going to be rest or surgery would help, and that'll be determined when the season's over.
"Whether it's rest that will help the inflammation or irritation go down in the area or whether it's something that has to be done surgically, we don't know that," Ausmus added, "so I'm not sure where Buster's getting his information."
Cabrera irked his ankle again Sunday, limping badly when he arrived at home plate after trucking around the diamond to score from first base on a Victor Martinez double.
"Scoring on that double tonight obviously aggravated it again, and we had to get him out of there," Ausmus said. "I'll wait and see how he feels tomorrow, but certainly, DH'ing tomorrow is a very good possibility."
Cabrera's numbers this season - while more than solid for most players - have been unimpressive by his standards, but he has been playing much better recently. Sunday night against the San Francisco Giants - just hours after Olney issued his report - Cabrera launched a two-run home run, his fifth one in the last seven games.
Going into September, Cabrera had hit only three homers since the All-Star break.
Cabrera's recent power surge began the first day of September, which was also the first of four straight days the Tigers used the two-time defending MVP as the designated hitter rather than putting him at first base.
While the Tigers must be encouraged by Cabrera looking more like his perennial All-Star self, Ausmus said before Sunday's game that the Tigers will continue to use Cabrera cautiously.
"He said he felt a little bit better today, talking to him," Ausmus said. "It's certainly nice when Miggy swings the bat. I think he takes a lot of pressure off other guys in the lineup, and he's looked good for the past week. I hope he continues to do the same.
"I hope he continues to feel better," Ausmus added, "but we're still going to have to monitor it. You don't want it to become a nuisance again."
