Leyland also strongly believes that Cabrera can be a very good first baseman. He has no track record to go on that.
Leyland doesn't need one. When he looks at Cabrera, he says, he sees a first baseman.
"He's got good hands," Leyland said. "He can pick the ball out of the dirt. He's a perfect target for someone to throw over to."
If Cabrera isn't, it's not going to be because the Tigers didn't work him hard enough at it.
While early work is nothing unusual over the course of the season, the sight of Cabrera, infield coach Rafael Belliard and a pitching machine out on the field long before batting practice is becoming almost a daily routine. One ball after another, the Tigers pepper Cabrera with simulated throws. Some are on target; others are in the dirt or just wide enough to make him stretch. Sometimes he's lined up at the bag waiting for the throw. Other times, Belliard will have him move into position from a fielding stance, watching his footwork to make sure he lines up correctly.
Over the course of last week's homestand, the Tigers fired baseballs Cabrera's way from all over the infield, including home plate to prepare him for the occasional Ivan Rodriguez dart. Next up will be outfield throws to work him on relays. Leyland has been there to watch almost all of it.
If this is supposedly the Tigers' way of exiling Cabrera away from third base, someone forgot to tell the Tigers' coaching staff. For a manager who takes defense seriously at first base, Leyland is staking plenty on the Cabrera move.
By the time they're done working, he believes they'll have a better infield for it. It just took them a while to get there.
Just a few months ago, Belliard and Cabrera were together on the back fields at Spring Training for extra work with the All-Star slugger at third base. As it turned out, Spring Training lasted longer than Cabrera's tenure at third in Detroit.
By the end of April, Cabrera and Carlos Guillen had essentially traded places across the infield after Guillen's transition from shortstop to first went rougher than expected. Cabrera had already been filling in at first some days while Guillen was off or at DH, which helped make Leyland's idea look more feasible.
Though it wasn't a reason for the move, the debate over Cabrera at third was one of Detroit's hot topic ever since the Tigers acquired Cabrera from the Marlins last December. Team officials declared then that Cabrera was their third baseman, and that he could be strong there.
While Cabrera played third in Florida, he didn't have to follow someone there like Brandon Inge. With a middle infielder's range, Inge became frequent sight on highlight shows in recent years. Cabrera is a different kind of third baseman. His error total didn't smooth the transition, yet the Tigers didn't temper expectations.
For similar reasons, Cabrera has a chance to be a different kind of first baseman than Detroit has seen in a while -- a big, yet athletic target with a hot corner kind of glove. But contrary to popular belief, Belliard said the move isn't as easy as it looks.
"Third base is a reaction play," Belliard said. "The ball comes quickly there. At first base, there's so many things that you have to be ready for. If a ball's hit in the gap, you have to know where you have to go. Every time they throw the ball to home plate, you have to be [ready]. You have to be sure that you get to the base, because with any ground ball, the throw's coming to you. You have to be ready every time.
"First base is not easy to do. Not too many guys can do that, but if you're a good athlete, I think you can."
Those who pull it off tend to be very good at it. Like Cabrera, Albert Pujols began his career playing the outfield and third before shifting to first full time. He won the National League Gold Glove award at first two years ago. The last two AL Gold Glove winners at first, Kevin Youkilis and Mark Teixeira, were both third basemen in the Minor Leagues.
Leyland was a scout and Spring Training instructor with the Cardinals when Pujols moved to first. He says it was not just athleticism, but an unparalleled work ethic, that allowed Pujols to shift so successfully there.
To make the move in midseason, though, will require a balance of work. Unlike Spring Training, there's a limit to how much Cabrera and Belliard can do.
"In Spring Training, you have more time," Belliard said. "You can do [more] early work. In the season, you don't want to overdo it, because he has to play. You have to be sure that you work hard, but you work smart."
They've kept the workouts relatively short each day with that in mind. It helps, Belliard said, that Cabrera has picked up on tips without having to repeat much.
"I think he's smart," Belliard said. "When we teach him, he picks it up very quickly. Some guys, you might have to work with for a month."
Cabrera, for his part, says he enjoys first base. His awareness of game situations appears to be solid, and his ability to snare ground balls has come in handy already. He has generally avoided the footwork foibles that plagued Guillen there early on. Even the social aspect seems to fit the usually quiet Cabrera, who has been seen chatting it up with Vladimir Guerrero and Manny Ramirez, among others, when they've been on base during recent series.
By no means, though, does Cabrera believe he has first base figured out.
"It's hard," he said. "I need to learn."
He has more workouts to come to take care of that. Once he gets through those, every indication suggests that first base will be his long-term home.
"That is his position," Leyland said. "There is no doubt in the history of baseball that is his position. And he should be outstanding."
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