DETROIT — Detroit Tigers star Miguel Cabrera clarified his position on his retirement Friday, saying he has plans to play in 2023.
“I’m not going to retire,” the Venezuelan told the Detroit News. “Not until next year after my contract is up. They didn’t understand what I said. There’s no way I’m going to quit.”
Cabrera, affected by a knee problem in recent seasons, had a .308 batting average on July 6 and is part of the select group of players with 500 home runs and 3,000 hits in his career.
Since then, he has a .125 batting average with one home run and two doubles in 21 games.
Tigers manager AJ Hinch said he will try to use Cabrera every other game during the team’s current round of home games, although the slugger was not included in Friday’s lineup against the Tampa Bay Rays.
On Thursday, Cabrera did not specifically mention a retirement, but said he wanted to know what his role would be in the future.
“Right now, I don’t know,” he said. “We’re focused on day-to-day and seeing what happens. I’m not thinking about next year.”
On Friday, Cabrera made sure everyone understood that he would be playing next season at Comerica Park.
“Next year is going to be much better,” he said. “Next year I will be there.”