Yesterday word was the Marlins and Rangers were not in on Prince Fielder, despite Scott Boras' Jimmie Foxx comparisons. The latest…
- The Cubs say they do not have the cash to sign Fielder, tweets Peter Gammons of MLB Network.
- The Marlins are not and will not be in on Fielder, a high-ranking Marlins official told Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Fielder can't drive the Latin market like Albert Pujols could have.
- The Brewers are far from out of it on Fielder, tweets Jon Heyman of MLB Network.
- Most of the teams talking to Boras about Fielder don't want to commit to the seven or eight-year contract Fielder desires, topping out at five years, tweets Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.
this is a big no duh… big boy should push for incentive based option years if he wants a contract past 5-6 seasons. Probably dependent on production, staying off the dl, and keeping his weight down.
Jimmie Foxx died when he choked on a piece of steak.
Not sure what the risks are for soyfurters, but it’s worth looking into. As long as we’re comparing…
As much of a masher Fielder is, he’s a big guy. Vegetarian or not. And big guys wear out more quickly than those who are more lean, e.g. Pujols. In this market, I could still see him going for 5yr/$100M+.
This puts the Jays back in the race for Fielder. They said they were weary of going higher than 5 years (aka NO chance…) so if the market stays at five they might have a chance. That or someone might just say EIGHT YEARS!!11!!
He already turned down 6 years , 120 mill.
He must be eating an awful lot of vegetables.
I am confused. Isn’t he a really great 1st baseman and slugger? Don’t have his stats in front of me. Why would you not want to sign a guy that is younger than Pujols and considered as a top player in his position to a contract that is around 2 to 3 years less than what Pujols is rumored to be getting?
Concerns about how well he’ll age/break down physically, considering his weight (I mean, what if he reaches critical mass?). Seven or eight years is an awful lot to invest in player who may decline considerably faster than a player in much better physical condition — prodigious talent notwithstanding.
Squawk! Squawk!
Fielder is fat. Fielder is fat.
Squawk Squawk!
Fielder is fat!
Man alive, years of this with no real analysis is just tiresome.
Skinny guys fall of cliffs production-wise too.
Long term deals, especially 8-10 year deals, are bad ideas.
Especially when they lock up 32 year olds at 25 million per.
Squawk Squawk to you too!
Squawk you?
because if he fails to age well the deal becomes a legendary AND mythical super-albatross that swoops down, scooping up and swallowing whole sharks, sailors, small whales, and baby seals alike; as it is an insatiable sea-bird, one of the animal kingdom wonders of the world, and powerful enough to consume the carcass of the franchise which tries to tame it.
Everybody wants to sugar coat it, but it really comes down to the fact that he’s fat and there’s legitimate fear of how quickly he will break down.
then they should probably be splenda-coating it. eh, eh? be here all week.
Maybe they should, and then get Monsanto to pay his contract
and then they’ll try to patent him…
why are teams willing to give Pujols a 10 year deal at age 32 and they are scared to give Fielder 7 or 8 year deal at age 27. i dont get it
Ditto this doesn’t make sense
Pujols is one of two players in the 40 all-time leaders of WAR who is still active, essentially meaning that by the time he retires he’s top 30 or 20 of all time.
Fiedler is an overweight slugger who’s played his whole career in a hitter’s dream park and is a medicore defensive player.
Wait until they test for Pujols “fertility treatments.”
He’s a big dude too. No way he holds up for 5 years, much less 10.
Pujols is one of the best hitters in the history of the game. Fielder is one of the better hitters of the past 5 years. Pujols average year over the past 11 is 155 games, 40 HRs, 117 R, 121 RBI, .328 AVG, .420 OBP, 1.037 OPS while Fielder (over 6 years) is 160 games, 38 HRs, 94 R, 108 RBI, .282 AVG, .390 OBP, .929 OPS. Yes Pujols is 4 years older, but he is also 6’3 230# while Fielder is 5’11 275#. Pujols is once in a lifetime. Fielder is one in a handful of current great first basemen.
Pujols “has been” for 10 years. Not “will be” for 10 years.
I am extremely dubious of guarantees of his future production. Aside from Barry Bonds, how many “all time greats” maintained peak production into the second half of their 30’s?
His weight!! Imagine how many ‘vegetarian hamburgers’ he will have consumed 7 years from now…. His weight is a major issue for most clubs. Yes, he has been durable in his tewnty’s but your body changes in your thirty’s and for a baseball player who is responsible for playing 162 games a season, this puts a tone on your body.
His weight!! Imagine how many ‘vegetarian hamburgers’ he will have consumed 7 years from now…. His weight is a major issue for most clubs. Yes, he has been durable in his tewnty’s but your body changes in your thirty’s and for a baseball player who is responsible for playing 162 games a season, this puts a tone on your body.
I’m sure Fielder will end up with a 6 or 7 year deal when all’s said and done.
The only ones really offering Pujols a 10-year deal were the Marlins and Cardinals.
IMO, the team that offers him the 7-8 year deal gets him. If not, it’ll turn into a bidding war for 5+options/incentives contracts.
And the Angels apparently.
Fielder wants to play on the Dodgers with his buddy Matt Kemp, he’s just waiting for new ownership to open up the bankbook.
and Tony Gywnn Jr. – apparently they are super close.
Scott Boras is going to have to go to the safe and get pics to blackmail some GM again, he will get him 7 years. For some reason he always squeezes it out of someone.
Fielder is one of the top sluggers in the league right now, but I don’t think he’s anywhere close to HOFer Jimmie Foxx.
One a side note, Fielder is the fattest damn vegetarian I’ve ever seen.
Last time I checked, donuts aren’t animals.
If I were Scott Boras and I was hoping to get Prince Fielder an 8 or 10 year contract, I wouldn’t be comparing Fielder to Foxx considering Foxx’s last productive season came during his age 33 year.
The more Boras compares Fielder to Foxx, the more teams are going to say, “Fielder is 28, Foxx was pretty much done by 33, so yeah, I am only going to give Fielder a five year contract……..”
Prince’s pop was done by 33 as well.
Unless the Orioles or Nationals do something crazy, there’s no way Prince gets more than six years.
cecil?
this makes no sence what so ever. you give a guy a 10 year 200+ million dollar contract and he so happens to be 31 and will be 32 in a couple months, but your scared to offer a guy who is 27 years old, more then 5 years because of what? weight?
He’ll be Prince Fielder-y for the next 4-5 years but after that Fielder’s pretty likely to turn into Mo Vaughn 2.0 — or more appropriately, Cecil Fielder 2.0. Check out Vaughn and Fielder’s stats after age 32 — brutal.
Or David Ortiz 33 1/3
5 years???? AA’s limit
If I were a GM, I would have hard rules about signing players. They would be as follows:
1) Don’t sign any Relief Pitcher over the age of 35.
2) Don’t sign any position player to a contract longer than five years (if the Average Annual Value is higher for a five year contract then so be it. I don’t want to be stuck with a guy who is overpaid, unproductive and untradable).
3) Don’t sign any Pitcher for more than three years (again, if the AAV is higher because of this, so be it).
Pat Gillick? Is that you?
4) Don’t get them wet and don’t feed them after midnight.
Seriously though, I think that what you wrote is a legitimate rule of thumb. I think the most recent deals that we are seeing are in order secure a “future HOF” on the team (in the case of Pujols).
Enjoy fourth place when all your FA’s bolt for gr$$ner pastures.
You could probably get away with #1 and #2, but #3 would destroy you unless you were the best drafting GM in the history of… well, ever, and able to keep a constant influx that way.
I’m with you on 2 — although I would make an exception if the guy is still really young (ala Cabrera’s Detroit deal) or gives you a hometown discount (Griffey’s deal with Cincy — although that one kind of proves your point).
I sort of agree with #3 — although you’d never sign difference-making pitchers in that case, and would be stuck with a staff of guys like Bruce Chen and Bartolo Colon unless you had really solid player development (like the Rays).
The first one I don’t agree with because there are many examples of relief pitchers over 35 who do very well — Saito, Hawkins, Rhodes, Oliver, etc. But I wouldn’t give out a multi-year contract for a relief pitcher over 35.
Not that anyone will ever hire me to be a GM. Sigh.
Sounds like the Orioles, except for the relief pitcher thing. Overpaying relievers in their mid-30’s must be Peter Angelos’s favorite thing to do.
I am really starting to jump onto the Fielder to Cubs bandwagon, if it takes 7 yrs I would be ok with that..going above that tho could get really really dangerous. Everyone knows the cubs won’t compete until ’13 or ’14..which puts Fielder into his prime years..I would be ok with that
The Cubs have to do … something. And with Pujols gone, stealing Fielder from the Brewers would be like one-upping two division rivals (two-upping?). But seems like Epstein is saying they can’t afford him. That Soriano deal is just hilariously terrible.
If the cubs sign fielder who’s to say they wont comete until 13 or 14? The Central would be considerbly weakened before then. The Reds look to be the team to beat now with the brewers and cads losing their big bats.
I think the Nats are going to get Fielder…
He’s going to get more money than Carl Crawford, especially if he goes to an AL team. My guess is he goes to the Mariners for 8 years and 160 million.
Mariners, in order to make room for Fielder, trade Ichiro (16MM), Figgins (9MM) and 5MM cash to the Tigers for Delmon Young (7MM) and Brandon Inge (6MM). Mariners net gain at least 7MM in space and 14MM if they chose non-tender Young. Ichiro gets to leadoff for a contender in his last season of his contract. Figgins gets a rebound shot and an option to play at 2b or 3b. Tigers only spend an extra 7MM on two of the fastest players in the league. Tigers save all their prospects and give up next to nothing. With Pujols leaving St. Louis, you can’t blame the M’s for cutting ties with Ichiro if it’s in the best interest of the team long-term. M’s lineup…
2b) Ackley
RF) Trayvon Robinson/Saunders
LF) Carp/Delmon Young
1B/DH) Prince Fielder
DH/1b) Smoak/Carp
C) Olivo/Jaso
3b) Inge/Seager
SS) Ryan/Franklin/Wilson/Triunfel(still figuring that out)
CF) Gutierrez
As a Tiger fan, I am a proponent of this trade, what do you M’s fans think?
no way, Ichiro approves of that trade.
Yeah. And no way the Mariners GM (not to mention the Mariners fanbase) approves of that trade either. Ichiro will never get traded — sells too many jerseys/tickets.
the mariners luuuuuv itchyballs….he will retire there….bet on it
the cardinals luuuuuv albert pujols….he will…..oh wait
Pretty sure Pujols sold a lot of Cardinals jerseys too dude
It’s not the same thing. The amount of the contracts is vastly different, and Ichiro is under contract for 2012, while Pujols wasn’t. If the M’s offer Ichiro a contract after 2012 and Ichiro signs elsewhere, then it’s a similar situation.
Let me rephrase. The situation is different, the precedent is the same. The precedent is baseball is a business in its truest form. Barring injury, the Mariners’ business, in the long run, is much better off having Fielder for the next 7-8 years at 160MM than Ichiro for just next season.
Another thing to note, like you said, it’s not the same thing. Pujols is locked in to the Angels for the next 10 seasons and will most likely finish his career there. Ichiro could and probably would come back to an M’s team that’s probably built to contend in 2013 with Nick Franklin, James Paxton, Taijuan Walker, Alex Liddi, and Guillermo Pimmentel all likely ready to add to an already exciting core of Ackley, Fielder, Smoak, Robinson, King Felix and Pineda
Let me rephrase. The situation is different, the precedent is the same. The precedent is baseball is a business in its truest form. Barring injury, the Mariners’ business, in the long run, is much better off having Fielder for the next 7-8 years at 160MM than Ichiro for just next season.
Another thing to note, like you said, it’s not the same thing. Pujols is locked in to the Angels for the next 10 seasons and will most likely finish his career there. Ichiro could and probably would come back to an M’s team that’s probably built to contend in 2013 with Nick Franklin, James Paxton, Taijuan Walker, Alex Liddi, and Guillermo Pimmentel all likely ready to add to an already exciting core of Ackley, Fielder, Smoak, Robinson, King Felix and Pineda
You don’t think Ichiro would want to play for a contender in his last season of his contract? Postseason success always boosts the value of your next contract, and Ichiro rarely has been on a winning team.
With the comma in your sentence it sounds as though you’re saying Ichiro approves of the trade.
I would have a conversation about this idea with you in a bar, but on this board, it violates a cardinal rule: “Does your comment contain a lineup? If so, FAIL.”
I’m actually somewhat of a proponent of including a basic lineup in a comment – Helps to eliminate confusion, especially when discussing three-team trades. However, trade discussions are *supposed* to happen in the Forums, which are, in my opinion, one of the most underused facets of this website.
my bad, just wanted to stir the pot
i don’t normally do lineup cards, but figured the question would be asked, who leads off for the M’s then?
Reasonable question. That’s why I kept my snark minimal. For verification of this unwritten rule, read any five posts you see with lineups and rate their quality. Almost infallibly low.
true, I too grew especially irritated with the constant Red Sox lineups that had Hanley Ramirez at SS and Justin Upton in RF acquired for Lars Anderson and Josh Reddick last year.
As a Mariners fan I think Brandon Inge and Delmon Young suck. The Mariners have the money for Fielder without trading any salary, it’s just a matter of making the commitment.
I don’t think I’d necessarily say Inge and Young suck, especially when Seattle has a pretty bad 3rd base situation at the moment. Inge could bridge the gap for Liddi possibly (unless the M’s want to just give the spot to Seager, which I’m not against). I’m thinking Jack Z has no problem giving Prince 7-8 years; if Z really thought his weight issue was such a huge risk, would he have pushed so hard to draft him with the Brewers in the first place?
I disagree. I don’t think they have the money for this season , especially with 25MM commited to Ichiro and Figgins in 2012, two players that can barely contribute with the M’s current offense. You don’t think Z would prefer to have an extra 7-14MM to work with to sign Fielder? Brandon Inge would be solid for the M’s for one season to develop Liddi and/or platoon with Seager (LH). As for Young, you can always non-tender him. With Ichiro, the Tigers would without doubt non-tender Young. So instead they trade him, and give Seattle the choice. Personally, I would think Z wouldn’t mind a 1-year gamble on a vet coming off a strong 2nd half and postseason. Then he’d be able to have competition for the last OF spot between Robinson, Saunders, and Carp. He may even decide that Guttierez should be replaced by Robinson or Saunders.
I’m a Tigers fan, too, but this makes no sense for the Ms. Ichiro is too valuable to them — not only as a lead-off hitter but as a franchise player who singlehandedly sells probably a third of their season tickets. Doubt the Mariners would consider trading him at all, and if they did, it wouldn’t be until the deadline. Ichiro’s situation is very different than Pujols — Pujols made a decision to leave, but the Cardinals clearly wanted him back.
And I bet the M’s will offer Ichiro a 3 year Jeter kind of deal (well, for less money) after this season, too. He has a legit shot to get 3,000 hits as a Mariner.
The Mariners would do well to sign Fielder regardless — they can afford him. Ichiro/Ackley/Fielder/Smoak/Carp (in LF)/Olivo/Gutierrez/Ryan/Figgins isn’t a terrible lineup, in theory.
that same argument could have been made for Pujols. It’s not that different. The Cardinals always had the option to match, they chose not too. The Mariners have the choice to commit 16MM to Ichiro next season, but could chose 20MM to Prince instead. Would you blame him? You don’t think Fielder could draw fans in Seattle? They haven’t had a sound LH homerun hitter like him there since Ken Griffey days.
The amount of money involved is nowhere near comparable. And the Cardinals didn’t trade Pujols. Either way, the Mariners have the money to sign Fielder without trading Ichiro, so I don’t really get your point.
It’s debatable and unclear that the Mariners have enough money for this season. They have very little money off the books from 2011 and a few sizable arbitration raises on the way. There have been a lot of mixed reports about their financial situation. With my proposal though, it ensures that they do indeed have the money for this season for Fielder with 7MM to 14MM depending on if they non-tender Young. they aren’t going to have an opportunity to land a hitter of his caliber next season. (I don’t see Hamilton leaving Texas and if Joey Votto becomes available, I’m quite positive the Blue Jays will do everything in their power to get him.)
What, so they don’t want him because he’s not latino? If no one will give him more than five years, the Marlins can probably snatch him up for six. They won’t get screwed over with a 10-year contract to a 32-year old player.
Damnit Marlins don’t make any sense.
The Marlins wanted Pujols because they thought him being latino would bring in more latin baseball fans to the new marlins ballpark.Prince not being latino gives the marlins management the impression that Prince won’t be able to draw in the latin market like Pujols, making giving Prince a big contract not worth it.
This also explains their dogged pursuit of Carlos Juan “CJ” Wilson.
Apples in oranges.Take a look at what the marlins offer CJ Wilson and take a look at what they offered Pujols.CJ Wilson would have only been a piece of the puzzle, Pujols and someone like Prince Fielder would have been the center piece, the face of the franchised.The Marlins didn’t want Pujols for production alone.The Marlins believe with his star power and pedigree he would have brought in not just the latin baseball fans, but miami latino residences who only have a casual interest in baseball who would come out to see a superstar latin ballplayer.I mean, you can’t be that stupid.
“a high-ranking Marlins official told Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Fielder can’t drive the Latin market like Albert Pujols could have.
What do you think that means? It’s obvious you too simple to grasp something so clearly stated, but you can at least give it a try.
It was a joke, I didn’t mean to rip you. Sorry if it came off that way.
Having said that, it’s not like their offer to CJ was peanuts compared to what they would have to offer Prince, so it’s not a TOTAL apples-oranges comparison. Less for CJ than Prince, sure, but not a tiny fraction by any means.
I guess the argument would be along the lines of “We need a pitcher like CJ, we don’t care about his marketability. we don’t need a first baseman as desperately, but we’ll make an exception for a marketable guy like Pujols (but not Prince).”
I once finagled a press pass to cover a Yankees game in 1997 when Cecil Fielder was on the team. In the locker room before the game, a reporter for a Latino newspaper approached him and said, “Hey, Cecil –.” Fielder cut him off there because the guy had pronounced it like Cecil Cooper, not Cecil Fielder — Fielder corrected him in this really sarcastic voice by saying, “It’s Cecil…” But the guy continued undaunted. He asked: “Are you Latino?” And Cecil said, with a smile on his face, “Uh, no.” And then he just walked away from the Latino reporter. None of it made any sense but it was totally awesome in every way.
That’s basically the Marlins vs. Prince right now.
So the Cubs had enough cash to be in on Pujols, but not enough for Fielder? Umm, sure.
Please the Cubs don’t have the money to spend is a load of it.
Yup. The Cubs could easily afford it if they so desired (and with no commentary about whether or not that would be a good idea).
They may not WANT to spend the kind of money it would take on Prince Fielder, but that is not the same as not having it.
Seriously, Alex Anthopolous. Pujols set the bar. Offer Prince 5 years, $125-$130m which is Pujols money without the years. Offer him options for years 6 & 7, and get it done. Now is not the time to sit back while the Angels are loading up.
Watch out for the Orioles
It’s the one thing I’m not ruling out for them.
There’s no way the Orioles will sign a FA pitcher for more than three years.
There’s no way they’ll trade Wieters, Jones, Hardy or Markakis (not that anyone would want Markakis at his current salary).
There’s no way they’ll trade Britton, Arrieta or Matusz (not that they could get anything for Arrieta or Matusz at this point).
But Prince Fielder? Peter Angeles just might be desperate enough. And Dan Duquette just might be crazy/stupid enough.
We’ll see…
I like Scott Boras’ Jimmie Foxx comparisons. The highest Jimmie was paid in a year was $32,000. I think a lot of teams could swing that for Fielder.
I’d actually rather not see he Cubs spend a ton of money during a rebuilding phase. This team got into trouble by overpaying for free agents, we don’t need to go down the same path.
I think we’re going to have to just wait this out, get rid of the bad contracts and load up on young talent. Trading Garza for some of the Rangers’ top prospects would be a good start.
In light of the MASSIVE Pujols contract, does anyone think that to the right team 6/120 for Fielder is THAT bad? I can’t believe you are all so down on him.
If I’m a team in the perfect situation (though I can’t exactly think of which team that might be) I wouldn’t consider 6 years MAX for Fielder to be too bad. We all know that there is a big risk he’ll drop off a cliff (thus causing the expected disaster earthquake they are forecasting for SF) but does anyone see him degrading so badly before age 32? I don’t to be honest, teams will get a good 4-5 years out of him offensively.
Seattle, Baltimore to help regenerate enthusiasm? Toronto? I really can’t recommend a NL team signing him, the Cubs need a full rebuild rather than a quick ‘fix’ that won’t solve any issues.
So the Cubs draw over 3 million fans every year, have nice media contracts, and have removed a bunch of money from the payroll … and now they are broke? So all this “building the right way from within …” was just another way of saying “we can’t afford to be good right now”? Lets hire two expensive GMs to come in and build a cheap team? Somebody is lying and Cub fans are paying for those lies.
It’s called trimming the fat. Easiest way to save money is not spending it. Why would you want to be burden with yet another big expensive contract while you are in the first phase of rebuilding? You dont go out and buy a new top of the line tractor when you’re just getting your feet wet into farming now do you?
Why is it we’re not talking about the Cards in this race now that Pujols is gone?
Thats why the extended an offer to The Big Puma. He can cover both first and the outfield when needed. I guess they should’ve kept Brett Wallace around?
*There buddy…I fixed it for you.
I hate to be the grammar police, but “should of” hurts my brain when I read it.
Hate Discus.
I’m surprised, I thought more teams would be in on Fielder.
he’s 150 lbs overweight and an injury waiting to happen.
I think teams would be just as skeptical of a guy who’s 5’11” and weighs just 125 pounds…
Somebody get that guy a HIV test!
Milwaukee already offered 6years/120mil. Dont be surprised If the Crew ends up the signing him when it’s all said and done. He clearly wants to come back to a club where he knows he’s the face and the undisputed leader. No ofense to braun, but Prince clearly runs the show and the brass in milwaukee knows he way more important than just a big bat in the lineup
The Brewers most likely can’t offer more than 6/120, and he’ll certainly get better offers than that.
And of the hundreds of guys who have said over the years that they want to play where they’re comfortable or near their home town, how many have actually turned down more money to do so?
Here is the thing that is getting to me…First i have seen reports where the Cubs are thinking about trading Big Z and Soriano…what teams are intrested?!?…Second how do the Cubs not have the money we dont have Ramiez’s 10-16 mil and we dont have Pena’s 10 mil so that leaves us with beteween 20-26 mil for sure for this season anyway…I think the Cubs should make a offer of 7yrs 160 mil true it is sturctured like Sorianos deal but look at the position…when will there be another opurtuinty for another legit first baseman…to top it all of we need a big bat and I dont see us getting one unless we get Fielder
Arbitration means raises which means less money. The Cubs don’t have the money a lot of people thought they did.
but ramirez and pena rejected the arbitration…
The Cubs have six guys who are arb eligible. One of those is Matt Garza who is due for a hefty raise. Another is Geovany Soto who will also get a raise. Randy Wells (if he’s not traded) is also due a raise. Dewitt, Baker and Hill could all either get raises, be traded or non tendered. Kerry Wood is going to be back and will get a raise. The Cubs claiming they don’t have the cash should not come as a surprise.
Still, ARam 16MM, Pena 10MM, and Fukudome 13MM. There’s no way the Cubs have even half of 49MM in arbitration raises coming. That’s 24.5MM dollars alone. I’m calling bs on Gammons on this one. They just don’t want people to get their hopes up
so you say the Cubs can afford him
If it’s not about the Red Sox, I always call bs with Gammons
If it’s not about the Red Sox, I always call bs with Gammons
Cub fans don’t want Ramirez who is declining very fast on D, and he’s lazy anyway, we don’t want him.
Theo and Jed are not showing their hand in any way regarding how much $$$ they are willing to spend.
Just because Peter Gammons reports a rumor does not make it true.
Old Boston friend or not, I doubt Gammons has the slightest idea of what Theo is working on.
I honestly hope that Cubs get Fielder beczuse the Cubs need a first baseman and i dont see one freeing up in the near future.
They don’t need Fielder they are rebuilding so they need to use what they have for 5 yrs when see who they can sign, either way the Cubs won’t be better then 4 or 5th the next 4-5 yrs.
what are you talking about the astros are leaving the divison and the cards without puljols and the brewers without fielder will struggle that leaves the iffy pirates and the reds
The Cubs will not compete they have horrible owners. They clearly would have got rid of the dead weight a long time ago Z, Ramirez,Lee, Soto. Ramirez is gone and Lee is gone now but a good owner knows his players the Ricketts don’t know jack s*** about the Cubs.
Fielder hasn’t signed yet you don’t know if the Brewers will re-sign him or not. The Cards losing Pujols isn’t as big as everyone thinks it is he has 5 good years left and who knows how old he really is anyway.
I honestly hope that Cubs get Fielder beczuse the Cubs need a first baseman and i dont see one freeing up in the near future.
the Cubs are losing out on the Fielder sweepstakes…waiting around til someone comes along just 2 swoop down & pick him up…the Cubs are looking into suring up the defense they have eyes site on Ian Stewart..but nothing has come just Gossip..a Fielder would be nice…but a long shot..I do think the Angel’s overpaid 4 Pujol’s…10 years…? they would be paying 3 years or so after the guy retired..what does that do 4 their Salary Cap..makes it hard 2 trade or sign players…remember the Alfonso with the Cubs 8 year deal & what he has done nothing 2 help them…a Fielder signing would fill a gap but a price & one that could bite them years worth the risk…Yes but other needs must be filled…
the Cubs are losing out on the Fielder sweepstakes…waiting around til someone comes along just 2 swoop down & pick him up…the Cubs are looking into suring up the defense they have eyes site on Ian Stewart..but nothing has come just Gossip..a Fielder would be nice…but a long shot..I do think the Angel’s overpaid 4 Pujol’s…10 years…? they would be paying 3 years or so after the guy retired..what does that do 4 their Salary Cap..makes it hard 2 trade or sign players…remember the Alfonso with the Cubs 8 year deal & what he has done nothing 2 help them…a Fielder signing would fill a gap but a price & one that could bite them years worth the risk…Yes but other needs must be filled…
a couple things don’t add up here. if the cubs were in fact seriously in on pooholes and weren’t just screwing with the cards to drive up the market, they should have money to sign prince. and if they were just trying to mess with st. louis, and didn’t have the money, then why wouldn’t they be doing the same thing to the brewers?
also, peter gammons is a twat and hates the cubs to begin with. i imagine theo and jed are just as much in on prince as anyone. the two of them want to down play the whole situation because they know the chicago media would have a feeding frenzy over fielder speculation. that doesn’t mean they’ll get him, but i expect the cubs are talking to boras. cubs chance of landing fielder: 15%
Maybe they meant it as they don’t have enough for Fielder because they’re using it in other places? You never know Theo is intrested in Kuroda, a veteran pitcher from Japan, and wants to improve pitching. Is it just me or does it seem like he might lure Kuroda in and then go after Darvish?
I call BS the Cubs are the third richest team in baseball, they don’t need Fielder but they have the cash if he wanted to go there, and ruin his career and never get a chance to win.
It’s too early to tell, you would think the Cubs, Jays, Marlins, Cards, Brewers, Rangers, and Nats would be interested in him.
Fielder should ask for only a 5 yrs contract and an opt out at 3 yrs to get even more money and maybe go elsewhere. I say he goes to the Rangers even though that would leave out the promising Moreland and Young at times.
wait, the Brewers are back in on Fielder? i thought i saw last night that they didn’t have the money for him? hopefully he re-signs with them though
If the Marlins aren’t in, then anybody is. None of the other teams who are thinking about singing him are in any position to win anytime soon. This could be set up for Fielder to return to Milwaukee. At least he’s comfortable there and he knows that team is capable of winning.
signing*