Countdown to Opening Day - 14: Cabrera, Verlander still have much to prove

In this 30-day series, theScore's MLB editors preview the 2015 season with an in-depth look at some of the significant numbers - milestones, jersey numbers and general miscellanea - poised to pop up throughout the campaign.

There's no denying that Justin Verlander and Miguel Cabrera are the heart and soul of the Detroit Tigers. Both players boast resumes filled with impressive personal accolades, but have failed to bring a championship to the Motor City since becoming teammates in 2008. The perennial superstars came the closest to a title in 2012, but were swept in four games by the San Francisco Giants in the Fall Classic.

What's more alarming is that the Tigers are paying the pair for a combined 14 more seasons, and they'll both be 32 years old by mid-April, when Cabrera celebrates his birthday. Here's a look at the respective monster contracts that are handcuffing the club:

Verlander's contract

*$22-million vesting option for 2020 guaranteed with top-five finish in 2019 Cy Young vote.

Cabrera's contract

*$30-million vesting option for 2024 with top-10 finish in MVP voting in 2023.

*$30-million vesting option for 2025 with top-10 finish in MVP voting in 2024.

The club's Opening Day payroll is a projected $166,725,000, according to Cot's Baseball Contracts. Exactly $50 million will be allocated to retaining Verlander and Cabrera's services. The picture gets uglier when you look ahead to 2016. The duo will combine to make $56 million, which accounts for slightly more than half the team's payroll obligations ($111,800,000) to this point.

Verlander's string of seven consecutive Opening Day starts will be snapped after manager Brad Ausmus declared David Price would be bestowed with the honor on April 6. Verlander struggled mightily in 2014 after undergoing core muscle surgery in the offseason, pitching to a 15-12 record with a lofty 4.54 ERA and 1.39 WHIP. He is a six-time All-Star, a Cy Young winner and an AL MVP, but Price, who has made only 12 starts in a Tigers uniform and will be a free agent at season's end, is now considered the ace in Detroit. 

Cabrera enters the 2015 campaign with injury concerns after undergoing surgery to remove a bone spur in his right ankle in the offseason. His power numbers were also considerably down in 2014, which is especially troubling for the Tigers moving forward.

All signs point to the duo continuing to regress statistically moving forward, but Verlander and Cabrera can make their large contracts worth every penny by accomplishing one goal: bringing a World Series title to Detroit for the first time since 1984.