5 potential career milestones affected by MLB’s shortened season

4. Miguel Cabrera — 2,000 career RBI

Miguel Cabrera is the one active player who has a realistic chance of joining the 2,000 RBI club. But it will take much out of him to even reach the number.

Cabrera currently ranks 29th all-time in RBI with 1,694. He is in a crowded field amongst the leaderboard in all-time RBI. For instance, another mere 15 RBI would jump him over five players, including Hall of Fame sluggers Frank Thomas and Jim Thome.

The reason why this particular milestone is difficult to project revolves on the uncertainty of just how much Cabrera has left in the tank. At the age of 37, he will play in his 18th year in the majors. Now years removed from his prime days, Cabrera is not a 100+ RBI player anymore; he hit this figure just once in the last five seasons. Injuries have deteriorated his ability to play anywhere close to a full season.

Cabrera is guaranteed to be a member of the Detroit Tigers for four more seasons, including the upcoming campaign. He has a vesting option for the 2024 season if he can finish in the top 10 in the American League MVP voting for the 2023 campaign, which would then fully guarantee a $30 million contract for the year. Considering his performances in recent years, it is essentially a near lock that a 40-year-old Cabrera will finish nowhere close to the top 10 for the 2023 AL MVP award.

To record at least 306 RBI in almost three and a half seasons would have been a doable feat for Cabrera in his prime. But this is not the case anymore. Over the last four seasons, he logged 249 RBI in 462 games.

Now with his age and the upcoming shortened season, Cabrera will need to stay healthy and make the most of his playing time on a rebuilding Tigers team if he wishes to reach the exclusive 2,000 RBI club.