Ausmus had been hoping to use the weekend series to give Cabrera some games at designated hitter, but he is expected to miss at least the next couple days after suffering a Grade 1 strain of his left oblique before Wednesday's win over the Orioles. Cabrera is not expected to require a stint on the disabled list, though the Tigers could wait until Saturday to backdate such a move and have him back next weekend if the prognosis worsens.
If Cabrera and Martinez are both out, the Tigers will have some lineup shuffling to do. Alex Avila started at first base on Wednesday before getting behind the plate for Thursday's series finale.