DETROIT -- There’s one month until the first full-squad workout at TigerTown in Lakeland, Fla., but Miguel Cabrera looks ready to go.

The Detroit Tigers slugger, who gained weight and looked puffy for much of 2019, had promised to lay off the arepas and get in shape this winter.

Tigers general manager Al Avila said Cabrera had hired a nutritionist and personal chef to get him back on track.

It seems to have paid off.

Cabrera even found time for workouts during a Christmas vacation to Hawaii.

He also shared photos of an unexpected workout partner, former New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski.

Cabrera’s weight has been a subject of scrutiny many times in the past. In fact, as early as 2012 (when Cabrera was winning MVPs and Triple Crowns) there were discussions about whether he was exceeding his ideal weight.

Cabrera’s recent power decline coincided with efforts to slim down in 2017 and 2018, which may have caused the slugger to equate more pounds with more power. But the chronic knee injury that plagued Cabrera in 2019 (and will likely plague him for the rest of his career) convinced him that he needed to lose weight to take pressure off the knee.

Despite all the challenges of 2019, Cabrera played in a team-high 136 games, hitting .282 with 12 home runs and 21 doubles. But in the last three seasons, he’s hit a home run only once every 40 plate appearances, compared to one every 19 plate appearances in the five preceding seasons.

Here’s more workout video of Cabrera from the System8 facility in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

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