Unless Cabrera ends up settling for a one- or two-year contract, he's probably not going to draw a ton of interest from Detroit, where the Tigers are looking more for somebody to hold down the shortstop spot until Cale Iorg or Danny Worth is ready, which they hope is in 2010. Keep in mind, too, that Cabrera is almost a full year older than Renteria.

What are the chances the Tigers may go after Rafael Furcal to fill the shortstop void? He is also an effective leadoff hitter. Wouldn't that be a good fit, or is he too pricey?
-- Kevin C., Tallahassee, Fla.

The problem with Furcal is that he's drawing interest from a lot of teams. He appears to be at the top of the market despite his recent injury history. That's expected to push his contract beyond where the Tigers would go to, again, essentially hold down a spot for the short term.

What do you think of the chances of the Tigers brass going after Nick Punto for the shortstop position? He won't be commanding that high of a salary that I can see. Might be a nice pickup.
-- Cas K., Perrysburg, Ohio

Punto's going to be an interesting case on the free-agent market. He can be a defensive option for teams in need of a shortstop that lose out on the top free agents, and his versatility around the infield can be appealing for teams looking for a utility infielder. He had interest from a few teams as of late last week, according to his agent, but the Tigers weren't one of them.

Doesn't the classification of Renteria as a Type A free agent make it a no-brainer that the Tigers offer him arbitration? If he signs elsewhere, the Tigers can recoup the two prospects they lost in the form of Draft pick compensation. If he surprisingly accepts, the Tigers are only on the hook for one year, which would solve the answer for a short-term shortstop.
-- Brad E., Green Bay, Wisc.

It's a good point, but the potential hitch is the timing. Teams don't have to decide on arbitration for free agents until Dec. 1, and free agents don't have to decline or accept it until Dec. 7. Waiting until a week into December to figure out what Renteria will do could knock the Tigers out of the market on some options at short, especially on the trade front.

Considering how quickly the organization moved to deal for Renteria last fall, and Gary Sheffield a year earlier to fill needs, it'll be interesting to see what Dombrowski decides to do on this one. They place a lot of emphasis on the Draft, and an extra first-round or sandwich pick will be very tempting.

Have a question about the Tigers? E-mail your query to MLB.com Tigers beat reporter Jason Beck for possible inclusion in a future Inbox column. Letters may be edited for brevity, length and/or content. First Name, Last Initial: Hometown: Email Address: Question:

Why doesn't Inge come up as a possible solution at shortstop? He's got great range and a cannon for an arm. If I recall correctly, he was drafted as a shortstop.
-- Jim K., Harper Woods, Mich.

This question keeps coming up in the mailbag. And indeed, Inge was a shortstop in college, though the Tigers drafted him with the intention of making him a catcher. Keep in mind, though, that he hasn't played shortstop at all since college, and he's now in his early 30s. He could play there in a pinch, but playing Major League-caliber shortstop every day is another matter.

One argument as to why Tigers struggled so much defensively was the shifting of positions, starting with Spring Training. The idea behind shifting Inge back to third is to let the Tigers take advantage of their best defensive option at the hot corner and help out their pitching staff, while also letting Inge work at his strongest position. Will it work long term? Time will tell, but the Tigers believe it's their best combination right now.

When the Tigers announced that they were sending Jeff Larish to the Arizona Fall League, they said that he would work on playing third base. The box scores from that league indicate that he is playing first base when he plays. How much control do the Tigers have when they send a prospect to the Winter Leagues?
-- Eric F., Livonia, Mich.

Good question. While Major League teams will send prospects to the AFL with recommendations on how they'd like to see them used, the final decisions are up to the managers. In Larish's case, Marlins first-base prospect Logan Morrison was expected to play the bulk of his time there, but missed time last month with an injured foot. That left Larish as Mesa's main option at first. With Morrison back over the last couple of weeks, Larish is now getting more games at third.