With Carlos Beltran expected to make a decision soon, the gap between Prince Fielder and the second-best hitter on the free agent market could grow even wider by the end of the week. Yesterday's rumors described varying levels of interest in the slugger from the Mariners, Cubs, Orioles, and Rangers. We'll follow today's Fielder items here…
- The Nationals have Fielder on their radar, though they've been keeping a low profile in the process, writes Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. According to Heyman, the Nats are one of about a half-dozen teams still eyeing the first baseman, and some of those clubs have either made offers or indicated "where they'd be willing to go monetarily."
- Heyman also hears from people close to Fielder that the 27-year-old may prefer to stay in the East or Central time zones as opposed to playing on the West Coast.
Kyle Haker
Scott Boras’ Whispers of Deceit: Wednesday
SpecialEd
come on Jays! you didn’t have to spend money on Yu, use it on Fielder!
the Jays(or any AL team) also make a better choice than any NL team, because in the future Fielder could move to DH.
Bombastic_Dave
As great as it would be, it’s not likely to happen. Boras won’t advise Fielder to take any deal that AA is likely to offer.
chico65
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MarinersRoyalsBraves2014
Fielder, go to LAD. Do it, now! Kemp and you need to protect each other. Get paid at the end after you win, like Pujols. If you don’t join the same team you each will have 50 IBB and your teams wont win.
The_BiRDS
I agree.. I feel like Fielder is just waiting for the phone to ring with a LA area code. Kemp and Fielder on the same team?? Crazyness
Ryan Christopher Harris
Or playing with Bautista…. that might help Jose. Joey Bats had the most walks, no one needs Fielder more than him.
scott brecht
That team still wouldn’t make the playoffs. Dodgers aalready have 91.5 mil on the books for 2013. Throw in Kershaw’s arbitration raise and you are already into 100-105 mil range. Good luck with those pipe dreams. It also says above that he may not want to play on the West Coast.
monkeydung
that team had a winning record last year despite limited offensive production. there were a lot of 1-0 or 2-1 losses last year where Fielder would have come in handy.
i’m also a firm believer that adding a guy in that lineup like Fielder will help out Ethier, Sands etc.
The_BiRDS
not dreaming just saying.. Thats a pretty high market team when not in debt… 100MM a year isnt much for LA
chico65
Luke, it’s impossible for anything concerning Fielder to get any wider.
Russell Stephens
fielder wont break 200 million
Russell Stephens
i stand corrected
feathers
Fielder isn’t close to signing anywhere for 2 reasons. 1) Boras’ games. 2) Ego.
MarinersRoyalsBraves2014
Yeah, if he doesn’t sign before New Years, he could accept arbitration. Brewers owner may be pleading with him to do so, now that Braun might face a 50 game suspension.
AJ Morash
the jays wont do anything they just want scraps im tired of my jays doing nothing
Morley C
Sergio Santos is not a “scrap”.
Ted W
Man, You sound like an O’s fan… You wanna talk about doing nothing? Please!
Mike McLellan
I cant remember where I read the article but Boras said that Fielder would sign before the new year. I hope that’s the case.
mike
Fielder dosent deserve Pujols money. Fielder shouldnt be signed to more then a 7 year deal. He is a seflish spolied brat and always has been. His dad was never around and his mom let him do whatever he wanted to do. Prince still acts like a spoiled child today. Any team that spends big on him WILL end up regretting it.
MarinersRoyalsBraves2014
That’s why he needs to go to LAD. haha. Where else would a selfish spoiled brat wanna play? Toronto? nope…Chicago? Maybe but they said they don’t have the cash, which is correct. They have to wait till Soriano is off the books. Lots of teams are still handcuffed by contracts from before the Great Recession. Fielder should go to LA and he’ll get paid at the end after they win. Play the rest of his career in LA, in these times it’s best to go to a sure market. LAD are due! NL West is, by far, the best division to play in.
SpecialEd
all of this is irrelevant. he can be spoiled all he wants, as long as he’s hitting.
but he still shouldn’t get a contract like Pujols. I would think Fielder at his size is likely to wear down before Pujols.
oz10 2
I don’t think that is quite right. From every report that I have read or heard, he is an awesome clubhouse guy that is respectful of his teammates and knows when he needs to step up and be a leader. He had no problem calling Morgan out and was credited for keeping him more inline than in the past. I know he did blow up at one point but that is just gonna happen no matter what with that kid. Those are not the signs of being a spoiled brat. All he wants is the most amount of money he can get. You and I do the same when we are looking for a job. He has earned his free agency and the right to look around for the most money and years. We, as normal people with normal jobs, can never understand the amounts of money being thrown around but if you saw somebody doing your same job get a massive raise, you would want one too. And it is like the age old real estate question: How much is a house worth? As much as somebody will pay! And it never hurts to ask for the moon and negotiate downward.
Nick S.
selfish? spoiled? brat? why can you judge somebody like that? have you ever met him? do you know his close personal friends and family? Prince was one of the best teammates Milwaukee has seen since the Yount days. Guy put his whole heart into the game. Played every single game year after year. Boras will be Boras. He is looking out for his agency and the union. Expect a big contract. Prince will do everything he can to live up to it. Prince however is not the one begging for more money. He wants to play on a friendly and competitive baseball team in a great part of the country to raise his kids and live with his family. Sorry LA, you are not the place. New York, not a chance. Miami, nope. Seattle, Toronto, Chicago, St. Louis, and on a pipedream he dons the brewers logo again.
LUWahooNatFan
Great… false hope for Nats fans that Fielder gets signed
scott brecht
I think he gets an 7 year deal worth about 160 mil with an opt-out clause after 3 years.
bmoneyy20
about 6 teams would have signed him already at this cost
oz10 2
he is big enough that six teams could split him
Mike McLellan
Your probably right, but I don’t see the point of an opt-out ofter 3 years. Everybody knows that when they are included in contracts, they are excersised 99% of the time. He might as well just sign a 3 or 4 year deal instead.
funkytime
The point is it gives the player the option.
If they feel they can do better on the open market than the remaining years, they opt out. If they’re hurt or their production drops, they stick with the original contract.
SpecialEd
wouldn’t it be better for Fielder to sign say a 5 year contract? he’s 27 now(28 in May) so a 5 year contract would lock him up through age 32. then at 32 he could sign yet another big contract to lock him up for the rest of his career.
right now if he was to sign a 7 year contract, that would take him through age 34. then he would be looking after that for a contract to start when he’s 35. he likely would not get another huge contract at that point.
ice_hawk1002
this argument has been made before. it has some merits but i think the fact is that the player wants as much guaranteed money and security he can get at one time. anything can happen over the course of 5 years. no one will take the risk and hope that everything will go perfectly so they can sign a second 5 year deal.
now you might see some kind of opt out after 3-4 years in a 7-8 year deal ala sabathia, cause there the money would be guaranteed unless the player thinks he can do better.
Tyler Sperry
Let me tell you why as a die hard os fan Prince wont come here. 1. despite these reports from the people on this site and stuff, our G.M already said theres no shot we sign him lol. 2. We need pitching. 3. Even if they would be interested in signing him, an opt out clause isnt going to happen. The NATS WILL BREAK THE BANK just like they did for werth. They have a great relationship with Scott Boras.
oz10 2
Top lineup???? If by top lineup you mean in the top 50% of the sport then you are right on. They were 14th in runs scored, 10th in hits, 19th in OBP and 11 in Avg. That equate to middle of the pack. In 2010 you were 27th in runs scored, not even bothering to look up the other stats. I did what you said and looked it up.
funkytime
“Heyman also hears from people close to Fielder that the 27-year-old may prefer to stay in the East or Central time zones as opposed to playing on the West Coast.”
Translation: Fielder prefers to play anywhere but Seattle.
DickHarden
They are only saying that to drive up Seattle’s price; they are the only team that’s been consistently linked to him.
Orlando
Fielder will take his talents to South Beach.
oz10 2
He would make that rainbow on your uni’s look actual size.
disgustedcubfan
i get the feeling Prince will play where ever he will earn the most money for the most years. End of story.