MLB Notes: Miguel Cabrera gets record contract

Miguel Cabrera’s bid to become one of the greatest hitters of all time apparently will take place in a Detroit Tigers uniform.

CBS Sports first reported Thursday that the Tigers and Cabrera have agreed to a long-term extension that will keep him with the club at least through 2021, if not longer.

Fox Sports reports the extension is for 8 years and $248 million ($31 million per year), the second deal in baseball history worth at least $30 million per season. Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw, one year from free agency, signed a long-term deal for $30.7 million per season.

That would put Cabrera’s total contract at 10 years, $292 million (through 2023), according to Fox Sports. That would surpass Alex Rodriguez for the largest lucrative contract in baseball history, by total value.

Cabrera, who turns 31 next month, is two years away from free agency. At about this same time last year, the Tigers signed right-hander Justin Verlander to a seven-year extension when he was two years from free agency.

In his six years in Detroit, Cabrera has gone from being an excellent young hitter to inarguably the best hitter in the game. He also has shown that he could enter the conversation to be among the best hitters ever. Over the past three seasons, he has become the first right-handed hitter to win three straight batting titles since Rogers Hornsby, widely regarded as the best right-handed hitter ever, won six straight in 1920-25.

Clearing the bases

Washington Nationals RHP Doug Fister left a minor league start after one inning with a strain of the latissimus dorsi muscle and may not be able to take his first turn in the rotation on April 6….The Arizona Diamondbacks have assigned top pitching prospect Archie Bradley to Triple-A Reno…. RHP Johnny Cueto will start on opening day for the Cincinnati Reds. … LHP Jon Lester has been picked to start on opening day for the Boston Red Sox.