The potential suitors for Prince Fielder has been dwindling this offseason, and another one may have just been lost. The Rangers signed Yu Darvish for a 6 year deal around $60 million which most likely takes them out of the Prince Fielder market. Now they could possibly still somehow sign him but I highly doubt it. So who is left to sign the power hitting first baseman?
Well Scott Boras has made it clear that Fielder wants a huge, long term deal but I am not so sure there are many teams that cane make that happen. The likely contract looks to be around 6 years for $22MM-$24MM which is a big time commitment for the young first baseman. The Cardinals could use a first baseman but they have made it pretty clear that they are not interested in Fielder. Will someone be willing to give Fielder that kind of deal or will Boras have to settle for a shorter deal, but with possibly more money?
One of the only teams left that I could see offering him this kind of deal is the Nationals. They need a first baseman and I think that they could afford Fielder but the question is whether or not they want to. Just imagine that future infield of something like Fielder, Anthony Rendon, Ian Desmond, and Ryan Zimmerman. That would look very good along with their young talented pitching rotation too.
Can we rule out the Yankees? I mean their current payroll is massive and is there room for Prince Fielder? I’d imagine room could be made. Jesus Montero figured to fill the DH role for New York but he is now in Seattle leaving the DH spot empty in New York. Fielder would be a great fit in New York and that lineup would be scary good. The Price may have to come down a little and if it did I think the Yankees would really want to jump for that.
There is also the idea of a short term deal with more money but less of a long term commitment. I think that more teams might be able to make that happen. I think Toronto would be a team that could make a deal like that happen. Fielder could man first base, moving Adam Lind to the DH spot. Imagine Fielder and Jose Bautista in the middle of a lineup together. The Tigers could also show interest in a deal like this after losing Victor Martinez for possibly all of 2012 with a torn ACL. The Brewers reportedly talked about a one year deal with Fielder and he would be able to look for a huge deal with the Dodgers and their ownership next offseason but Boras didn’t seem to be a fan of that idea.
If I were to guess who signs Prince Fielder, I think that it will be the Nationals. I think that they will ultimately be able to offer Fielder the long term deal that he is most looking for. You never know though, a new team could emerge by opening some salary space up or he might be more interested in a shorter deal worth money. What ever happens though, I think that we will see Fielder sign sometime next week.
Filed under: Digging Deep - Analysis Tagged: | Adam Lind, Anthony Rendon, Free Agents, Ian Desmond, Jesus Montero, Jose Bautista, Prince Fielder, Ryan Zimmerman, Scott Boras, Victor Martinez, Yu Darvish
I still think he signs with Texas. The Rangers knew they weren’t going to let Yu Darvish off the hook and were talking with Fielder ayway. I think Prince wants to win and would prefer to play for an American League team in a hitter’s park. If he wanted to be with Washington, I think he would have signed by now.
The fun part is it’s still anybody’s best guess right now. One thing I definitely agree with is that the Yankees are still in this in some capacity.
You never know with the Yankees. I mean their off-season has been really quie… if not a little too quiet. I wonder how much money they actually have left to spend?
Quiet? I don’t know if you just saw that trade they made? You know…Montero for Pineda.
Secondly, Mark Teixera is far superior to Fielder defensively, and dang near the same in production expect for batting average. Fielder isn’t going to DH…
I was referring to their offensive additions as being quiet. And yeah that might be the problem with fielder and his AL Market. Most teams that might be interested in him need a DH and he has said he wants to play first.
I would love to see a one or two year deal and a team like the Rays go after him. What a perfect fit he would be there.
Yeah he would! Fans would really enjoy a big deal like that im sure