Shea: I thought about Halladay, but Cabrera a stud

There really was no wrong choice for Shea to make with the No. 1 overall pick. But, because it's the top pick in the draft, we here feel the need to discuss and break it down.

Was it the correct one? That's up for debate. Shea chose Miguel Cabrera over the likes of Matt Kemp, Matt Holliday and Roy Halladay.

Shea already had Justin Morneau locked up at 1B and Alex Rodriguez at 3B. So with that said, why did he choose the first baseman instead of an outfielder?


"Well for the first pick, I think it's more important to select the most talented person than worry about what position he plays," Shea said Monday. "If he can fill a roster slot and is the best out there, you cannot pass him up."

Shea said he thought about taking Halladay before sticking with Cabrera, whom Shea called a "stud."

"He has power, average, RBIs, walks, you name it," Shea said. "He's also decided to stay sober this year and lost weight. Both should help his performance."

Cabrera, who turns 27 in April, had 34/103/.324/.943 last year. Kemp, 25, had 26/101/.297/.842 but he stole 34 bases and had a drastic production increase from 2008. Holliday, 30, was 24/109/.313/.909 and thrived in St. Louis.

Really, he couldn't go wrong. It's just a matter of whether taking a second 1B or an OF was a smart move.

"Miggy has keeper potential after I lose A-Rod," Shea said.

When asked whether he was concerned about Cabrera and his drinking issues, Shea didn't seem to be. It does not appear he has been in contact with the star, either.

"He's a grown man and has corrected his mistakes," Shea said. "I'll leave the ballplaying to him and the drinking/partying to me."

Shea made it clear he has championship-aspirations. He said the war room was subdued after taking Cabrera and more focused on the task at hand.

"We were pretty sure about this selection for quite some time, so it was exciting to finally have him put the cap on," Shea said. "But, shortly after it was back to business and sticking to the plan we set out for to make a championship run this year."