Ahh all the talk of the big money deal for JV, Anibal and Prince has led to the unavoidable question being popped up, should the Tigers look to trade Miguel Cabrera?  Miggy is owed $44 million over the next two seasons, but it isn’t his contract that could force the team to make a deal.

• JV will make $28 million a season through 2019
• Prince Fielder is owed $168 million for the next seven seasons
• Anibal Sanchez has 4 years and $72 million remaining
• Doug Fister eligible for arbitration in 2014, free agent 2016
• Max Scherzer eligible for arbitration in 2014, free agent 2015
• Austin Jackson eligible for arbitration in 2014, free agent 2016
• Rick Porcello eligible for arbitration in 2014, free agent 2016
• Alex Avila eligible for arbitration in 2014, free agent 2016
• Joaquin Benoit free agent after 2013
• Torii Hunter and Victor Martinez free agents after 2014

What does all of this mean?  A lot of money is going to be thrown around to keep this team together.  Replacements for guys like Benoit and Hunter may already be in the Tigers system (Castellanos and Rondon) but can they be trusted to jump in and fill that role?

The starting rotation is all due for a huge raise, and will the Tigers be able to hold on to Fister, Scherzer and Porcello and then for how long?  Austin Jackson is one of the best young center fielders in baseball and will soon cost a pretty penny to keep as well.

So if you add up all of the money the Tigers are already going to have to commit to these players, what do they do with Cabrera?  Should he be the top priority?  Absolutely.  He is the best player in the game right now.  But with all of the potential holes in the Tigers lineup and pitching staff can they afford to hold on to him?

Honestly, it may seem insane to move the best player in the game after two potential MVP and Triple Crown seasons, but the way this team is built would they have a choice?  ESPN mentions a three-way trade with Boston and Miami that lands the Tigers Will Middlebrooks, Giancarlo Stanton and a number of top prospects as a potential deal.  But even the top prospects don’t always turn out as is the case with the deal that brought Cabrera to Detroit.

I know Cabrera is a great, great player, but how does he compare to his teammates?  Would being able to afford and keep Austin Jackson, Max Scherzer and Doug Fister, plus whatever the Tigers would get in return in a trade, be enough to cover the loss of Miguel?  Detroit has backed themselves into a major corner with the sacrifice of the future for a current championship and now Dombrowski and company have to find a way to dig out of it.  We will see who will be lost in that transition.

So what do you think Tigers fans, should Miguel Cabrera be untradable or would the team be better with the core of players they could retain on his salary plus the return on a trade?  Let us know at DetroitSportsBloggers.com or on Facebook and Twitter.