Miguel Cabrera, Alex Avila sit out for Friday workouts

LAKELAND — It's nothing to be concerned about, especially since it seems to be a yearly tradition for Detroit Tigers catcher Alex Avila. Both he and Miguel Cabrera did not participate in workouts on Friday, but manager Brad Ausmus isn't concerned with either player.

Avila was held out of team activities for back tightness and is listed as day-to-day. But as anyone knows, Avila is more or less tied to that status no matter what time of the year it is.

During the 2014 season Avila missed a few days due to back issues, and during last year's spring training it was the same story. So, unless something new pops up, it's business as usual for Avila. As for the hockey mask, Avila has adjusted well to the change in equipment.

Cabrera had nothing to do in the offseason but work on his upper body strength while waiting for his ankle to recover. So, out of the players Ausmus noticed a difference with coming into spring training, Cabrera's has been the most noticeable.

The change, Ausmus said, was how much stronger Cabrera looks, which he attributed to Cabrera's focus on his upper body during the offseason.

After how much Cabrera was limited during the offseason, getting the AlterG treadmill has finally allowed the slugger to focus on something else. As a result, Cabrera has been running on the treadmill essentially every day since the equipment arrived at Joker Marchant Stadium.

Friday he had to take a day off from workouts, though that didn't stop him from playing catch.

"Today was more of a rest day based on how he felt," Ausmus said. "(The foot) was a little cranky today. Nothing major. He felt it was a little cranky, so Kevin (Rand) decided, let's just give it a day. He might have (used the treadmill) every day since he's been here. I talked to him. He's not concerned about it. But it's a little sore, so why push it?"

Jose Iglesias will see playing time in the March 3 Grapefruit League home opening game against the Orioles, but don't expect him to be in the game for very long. Monday is also still a possibility, but even less so than Tuesday. Ausmus doesn't feel the need to rush him back into action, even though Iglesias has been sprinting at full speed before camp started.

There's nothing holding Iglesias back at this point but Ausmus is going to continue to be cautious with the shortstop. And that caution will likely extend into the regular season. Ausmus wants to see Iglesias able to play nine innings consecutively with no issues before he'll be comfortable saying Iglesias is 100 percent.

For now, Iglesias will be treated with kid gloves on some level because there's no reason not to be, and because Ausmus doesn't want to risk anything out of the ordinary happening. And while Friday's cooler weather (by Florida's standards) may not have inhibited Iglesias on any level, but Ausmus wasn't going to take any chances.

"We ran bases today, then he took grounders, did the fundamental and he hit," Ausmus said. "When he got done hitting, I sent him inside. I didn't want him standing out in the outfield shagging. I don't want to say that's going to be the straw that breaks the camel's back, but any little bit of time we can get him off his feet early helps. So I sent him in about 10 minutes early."