"On Jan. 19, as the Tigers kicked off their winter caravan at Comerica Park, Brandon Inge talked happily about his intentions to earn a full-time job at third base this season.

"I've played baseball my whole life. I've started my whole life," he told the Free Press. "I'm a baseball player. I don't want to platoon."

That was before the Tigers said Thursday that Miguel Cabrera would switch from first base to third base after the signing of free-agent first baseman Prince Fielder.

"He's not the happiest camper," manager Jim Leyland said of Inge, a lifetime Tiger. "He certainly understands, and we try to deal with these issues as we're supposed to because it's part of our responsibility.""