Miguel Cabrera: (Ankle) May Not Be Ready For Opening Day

Cabrera (ankle) may not be ready for Opening Day, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports. "[Cabrera] is as tough as you can possibly be," GM Dave Dombrowski said Friday. "It's worse than what we ever would have anticipated."

Analysis:

The 31-year-old didn't miss a start and hit .379/.409/.709 with eight homers and 18 RBI in September, which is hard to fathom in light of these new details. Two screws were inserted into Cabrera's right ankle Wednesday to help stabilize a stress fracture in the navicular bone, a far more serious procedure than a simple scope to remove bone spurs, which is all Cabrera was believed to be dealing with. While the situation is slightly troubling, it will be three months before the Tigers evaluate Cabrera, and his progress in the interim will ultimately determine his availability for spring training and the start of the regular season.