Miguel Cabrera diagnosed with chronic knee issue - MLB

Veteran slugger Miguel Cabrera has been diagnosed with a chronic knee condition, one that will be with him for the remainder of his career, Evan Woodbery of the MLive Media Group reports. As a result, Cabrera will be moved off of first base to contribute exclusively as a designated hitter. Doctors said season-ending surgery was a possibility, but Cabrera went against it, saying, “Forget about that. I’m done with that.”

Cabrera, 36, has been able to hit for contact but almost no power this season. He owns a .284/.356/.356 triple-slash line with only two home runs and 22 RBI in 219 plate appearances. Cabrera also only racked up three homers in 157 PA in an injury-shortened 2018 campaign as well.

It’s a shame injuries are slowing Cabrera down as he’s sitting on 467 career home runs, good for 35th place on the all-time leaderboard. He was once considered a lock to join the 500-homer club, a group that boasts only 27 members. The future Hall of Famer will have four years and at least $132 million remaining on his contract after this season.

Cabrera is back in the lineup for Tuesday night’s game against the Rays. He hadn’t played since May 31. Brandon Dixon is handling first base. He could get the majority of starts there, sharing time with John Hicks.

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BALTIMORE — The Baltimore Orioles signed outfielder Aaron Hicks less than 24 hours after Cedric Mullins went down with a strained right groin.

Mullins went on the 10-day injured list, but the Orioles are hoping Hicks can help defensively in the spacious outfield at Camden Yards. Hicks was released last week by the New York Yankees with more than 2 1/2 seasons left on his contract.

“We had noticed that he was a free agent even before the injury,” Orioles general manager Mike Elias said. “When the injury occurred and it became pretty clear this was going to be an IL, it seemed like a good fit even more so at that time.”

The Orioles are responsible for paying Hicks just $483,871, a prorated share of the $720,000 minimum salary. The Yankees owe him the rest of his $10.5 million salary this year, plus $9.5 million in each of the next two seasons and a $1 million buyout of a 2026 team option.

The 33-year-old Hicks hit just .188 in 28 games for the Yankees this year.

“We have stuff that we look at from a scouting and evaluation perspective,” Elias said. “It’s very different from just looking at the back of a baseball card, and we hope that we get a bounceback from anyone we bring here.”

Hicks batted .216 last season.

“Hopefully that’s a good thing for him,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said of the Baltimore deal. “A lot of time here and a lot of good things happened for him here. I know the last couple of years have been a struggle. But hopefully it’s a good opportunity for him and certainly wish him well. Not too well being in our division and a team we’re chasing, but hopefully it’s a really good fit for him.”

Mullins left a loss to Cleveland after he pulled up while running out an infield grounder. Outfielder Colton Cowser – the fifth pick in the draft two years ago – is hitting .331 at Triple-A Norfolk, but he went on the IL in the past couple weeks.

“Certainly he was building a case towards promotion consideration prior to his injury and prior to Cedric’s injury,” Elias said. “We’ll just see where we’re at.”

Hicks was active for the game but not in the starting lineup. Austin Hays, normally Baltimore’s left field, was in Mullins’ usual spot in center.

When the wall in left at Camden Yards was pushed significantly back before last season, it made left field a bigger challenge defensively.

“In this park … you really need two center fielders,” manager Brandon Hyde said. “Aaron’s got a lot of center-field experience. Played left field here before also. Brings the defensive aspect and then the switch-hitting.”