Miguel Cabrera made headlines over the weekend when he pointed to the players hitting behind him to explain his lack of power this season.
The veteran slugger has one home run in 31 games.
In his usual spot in the three hole, Cabrera has spent most of the season hitting in front of 25-year-old Niko Goodrum, who didn't become an everyday big-league player until the second half of last season. In 24 games in the clean-up position, Goodrum is hitting .224 with three homers and a .760 OPS.
Jeimer Candelario, Christin Stewart, John Hicks and Dustin Peterson have also hit clean-up this season.
Ron Gardenhire, who initially called Cabrera's comments "a little crazy," told 97.1 The Ticket following the Tigers' win over the Royals Sunday that the situation isn't that big of a deal.
"I think that's just overplayed. I know Cabrera didn't mean anything by it," said Gardenhire. "He's just saying it's different when back in the day he had some big bombers behind him. And there's nothing wrong with that.
"We've got a lot of kids here that he ends up (in front of). And it is more difficult. They're going to pitch around him. He's not wrong. But I don't think anybody's read it, to tell you the truth, except us."
Gardenhire added that it's not something he has to address within the clubhouse.
"Hell no, I don't touch stuff like that. You don't need to. Cabrera's the man around here. He's the boss," he said.
Whether it's related to the Tigers' diminished lineup or not, Cabrera's power is significantly down this season. He's on pace to barely crack five home runs. His .372 slugging percentage is well below his career mark of .549. His average is a healthy .298, but 29 of his 36 hits are singles.
Things will likely start to improve as the weather heats up, but the 36-year-old simply doesn't have the same pop he used to.
Gardenhire added, "He’s still gotten pitches to hit. He just hasn’t hit them out of the ballpark yet. He’s still gathering himself. He spent the whole year off last year, so we’ll see where we go from here.”
Cabrera missed most of last season due to a ruptured biceps.
As of Sunday afternoon, Goodrum said he was unaware of Cabrera's comments.
"I didn't hear any word of that, so I can't comment on it. It is what it is," he said. "I'm just going out there trying to do what I can do, like everyone else."