CLEVELAND -- Jose Cabrera was looking forward to the quiet of the All-Star break as he readied for batting practice Sunday afternoon at Progressive Field before the Tigers' first-half finale against the Indians. After seven consecutive All-Star selections -- he was selected in 2015 but was injured and didn't take part -- he can use a few days off in the middle of the season to heal and tune out.
"When you have a chance to have four days off, you have to get some rest, get fresh and get going the second half," Cabrera said.
He's also looking forward to getting past the Trade Deadline at the end of the month, and tuning out the trade rumors that are circling around his team in the meantime. That's going to take a while.
Though Cabrera is highly unlikely to be dealt during an injury-hampered season with a virtually untradeable contract, he hears the rumors. He doesn't have to read online or watch sports shows to find them; he hears them from family and friends.
He understands the probability that this team will be broken up. He knows the task general manager Al Avila faces in the years ahead. But that doesn't mean it doesn't faze him.
"They have to do what they have to do to get this team better. It's not part of my business. I don't really pay attention," Cabrera said. "But if they want to trade me, trade me. If they want to trade these guys, trade these guys. But I don't like to come here every day and hear that this guy's going to get traded, this guy's going to go away. Do something, and that's it.
"We have to worry about playing the game. If you're going to be traded or if you're going to trade somebody, do it."

Cabrera has seen this before. He was around two years ago when the Tigers traded David Price, Yoenis Cespedes and Joakim Soria in a span of just over 24 hours leading up to the Deadline. Before that, Cabrera was around when Ivan Rodriguez -- then the rock of the franchise -- was sent to the Yankees on the day of the Trade Deadline in 2008.
To that extent, he gets it.
"Most of the guys I played with for a lot of years, they're gone already," he said. "It's no big deal to me. It's baseball. It's part of it."
A full-scale rebuild, however, would be different. Depending on how deep it goes, Cabrera could end up the elder statesmen on a young roster. Though he saw it with the Marlins on his way out of there, he was in the mid-20s then. He's in his mid-30s now.
"I mean, they have to do what they have to do to get this team better," Cabrera said. "Let's see what happens."
In the end, all Cabrera wants to do is win games, even if they shuffle the roster. But the rumors are proving to be a distraction.
"We're humans, man," he said. "We think. We feel. It's hard when you hear that every day."
Cabrera's comments came a couple of days after he posted a photo on Instagram of Tigers veteran players talking around one of the dining tables in the visiting clubhouse at Progressive Field. His post said in Spanish that it was a meeting to improve and win as a team. Cabrera said Sunday it wasn't a special meeting, but something they do fairly regularly. <p. and="" believing="" but="" div="" frustrating.="" have="" he="" is="" keep="" s="" said.="" this="" to="" we="" win="" year=""></p.>