TODAY: Cabrera was officially placed on the 10-day IL, retroactive to September 3. Lester’s contract was selected from Triple-A, and Meadows was moved to the 60-day IL to open up a 40-man roster spot.
SEPTEMBER 3: After tonight’s game, Tigers manager A.J. Hinch told reporters that the club is going to place Miguel Cabrera on the 10-day injured list with a left biceps strain. Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic was among those to relay the news on Twitter. Infielder/outfielder Josh Lester will be called up to take his place on the active roster. Lester isn’t currently on the club’s 40-man roster, meaning a corresponding move of some kind will be required to make room for him. That might be as simple as transferring Austin Meadows to the 60-day IL, after he announced that he will miss the remainder of the season.
Hinch says that Cabrera will miss 10-14 days but that they want to get him back to the club this year. That doesn’t leave them with a huge window, as there’s just over four weeks remaining in the season at this point. However, the club is well out of contention at this point, meaning they could probably bring Cabrera without a rehab assignment for a few at-bats if he’s able to get his strain under control by early October. The 39-year-old is in the penultimate season of the extension he signed with the club in 2014.
Lester, 28, was a 13th-round draft pick of the Tigers back in 2015. That means he is currently in his seventh minor league season, which would have been his eighth if not for the pandemic wiping out the minors in 2020. He’s never been listed as one of the club’s top prospects at Baseball America or FanGraphs but has earned his way up to the big leagues with a solid showing here in 2022. In 124 Triple-A games on the season, he’s hit 24 home runs and is slashing .242/.304/.469. He’ll be making his MLB debut as soon as he gets into a game.
