Tigers' Cabrera: 'Too early' to determine status for Opening Day

Miguel Cabrera arrived in Florida on Monday, several days before he was expected at the Detroit Tigers' spring training complex in Lakeland, but couldn't offer a definitive answer as to whether he'll be able to take the field when his team hosts the Minnesota Twins on Opening Day.

"I don't know," Cabrera told Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press. "Who knows? I want to be ready for Opening Day, but you don't know what's going to happen, so I think it's too early to say that. So this way, we'll see what happens."

Cabrera was recently deemed ready for non-impact baseball activities, roughly four months after undergoing surgery on his right ankle, and proudly announced that he experienced no pain when he resumed hitting last week.

Cabrera's arrival in Lakeland, though, actually preceded that of the AlterG anti-gravity treadmill, a machine expected to aid the 31-year-old first baseman in his recovery this spring.

"I think it's going to help," he said. "I think it's going to help the whole team, because that machine takes a lot of stress for your legs, and I think everybody is going to be able to work better and comfortable and work hard."

Cabrera, who had a stress fracture repaired and had bone spurs removed from his ankle, still appeared in 159 games last season, but the two-time MVP endured a marked declined in his isolated power while posting his lowest batting average (.313) since 2008.

Cabrera said Monday that his condition is improving with each passing day.

"Much better," he said. "Every day, I think I feel my ankle getting strong. I try to keep working and trying to be 100 percent."