The Tigers are "very close" to a nine-year deal with Prince Fielder, Yahoo's Tim Brown tweets. Fielder will join Miguel Cabrera in the middle of the Tigers' order to create more than enough offense to make up for the loss of Victor Martinez.
Though the market for Fielder seemed far from robust at times this offseason agent Scott Boras has found an unexpected suitor once again.
This post was originally published on January, 24th, 2012.
Mystery Team FTW
Absolutely!! Mind-blowingly out of nowhere!!
I hate to give props to Boras, but here goes: way to play poker, Mr. [sneaky] Agent! (ugh…now my stomach hurts!)
um. what.
This is very interesting.
The Tigers current payroll is only $106MM which is about $17MM less than last year.
He’s kidding right? With all these fake account tweets, he’s just adding his own joke, right?
haha so much for Dombrowski saying he wasn’t interested
I don’t even… WUUUUTTTTTTTT??????
Ok… seriously. I got flagged twice???
Edit: Just trying to express my surprise, both at the signing and the suddenness that this website is now rated G.
In reality it always was (there ARE kids on the site), and now Tim needs to make sure. Anyway, shouldn’t be too difficult for any smart fan to roll with.
Well, that was unexpected. Guess they don’t want Cespedes aftr all.
It’s obvious that Scott Boras was behind Victor Martinez’s injury.
i predict this comment gets 100+ likes
WHat????
Miggy and Fielder? That is going to be a lot of money for a DH.
That’s going to be a lot of money spent on the post-game buffet.
Wait… WHAT?!
Woah, didn’t see that coming, seems kind of a waste imo, what would they do? Have Prince just DH?
holy crap
Wow….are you serious I totally batted below the mendoza line and below with MLB FA tracker on this site.
Nine year deal? Who were they bidding against?
mystery team
In other words, themselves?
probably Washington. and washington prob upped their offer to 9 years and but would not include a no trade clause (cause their smart) and detroit said ” we will give you what ever you want sir royalness ” and boras bit on the tigers offer, whipped it out and said have at it
ughh where does Cabrera go?
Now that. That is crazy.
Wow…I take back my sentiments to the Tigers about losing V-Mart.
This means the Tigers will dominate the AL Central for years to come
SHUT THE FRONT DOOR!!!!
I hope Fielder is not taking Heath Bell’s Wii Fit off-season approach.
WOW
I thought Prince didn’t want to DH? Unless Miguel Cabrera is fine with not playing the field? Or heaven forbid, Miggy playing a corner OF spot!
200+ million can change a mind real quick
all hail mystery team
Don’t get this one
What the hell???
When everyone doubts Scott Boras, he comes about with a NINE year deal with Prince Fielder, when Albert Pujols only got ten years.
Only 10 years for a 32 year old? How many did you think he would get?
I thought Pujols would get 10 years. The surprise was more that Fielder, who isn’t even *close* to the level of player Pujols (or ARod) is, got just one fewer year than Pujols.
No Way..never saw this coming…well this is good for Cabrera so him and Prince can switch off at DH with V-Mart out…or the possibility of Cabrera going back to 3rd base…Love this move for the Tigers as a Tigers/Red Sox fan
Good God I can’t wait for the season to start…
didn’t see that one coming…..
Although I do hate the years…9 years is pretty brutal
how does he fit in with the tigers? or better yet, when martinez is healthy, how do he and avila fit in?
Cabrera and Prince Fielder in the middle of the batting order. That’s how he fits in.
The Tigers just became legit WS contenders for the next few years. They can worry about where to play them later.
Either Cabrera to 3rd with Fielder/Martinez to 1st, or Martinez back behind the plate with Avila to 3rd. Defense takes a big hit, offense takes a HUGE leap.
Avila is staying behind the plate no matter what. He had a higher OBP and slugging percentage than Martinez last year as a 24 year old, and he’s WAY better defensively.
Either Cabrera to 3rd or V-Mart gets traded. Pretty simple.
And he should…I wouldn’t even be considering moving Avila right now. I just thought of that game he played 3rd last year and thought maybe it’s an alternative that no one wants but they’d do if they had to.
That of course would be assuming V-Mart COULD even catch anymore. And I think he’s done back there so it doesn’t matter.
Between Jayson Werth to the Nationals and Cliff Lee to the Phillies last winter, I said I could never again be shocked by a free agent signing…
I now stand corrected.
9 years? Holy bongo in the Congo!
that’s officially my new favorite phrase
OH MY GOD, OH MY GOD, OH MY GOD!
I LOVE YOU, MIKE ILITCH!!!
Color me surprised if this is actually true. 9 years? Would he be a full time DH? Or would Cabrera move back to third (or, heaven forbid, back to the outfield where he started his MLB career)?
wow thank god he didnt go to the Nationals
Still a two team race in my eyes in the NL East Phillie’s and Marlins
Marlins ? Really ?
Yeah really power in Stanton, Ramirez, Lomo, Sanchez. Speed up top with Bonifacio and Reyes. And pitching with JJ, Sanchez, Mark, Ricky and Zambrano. And a solidified closer in bell.
So if the tigers do sign Prince Fielder will he play DH or 1st base?
The Tigers and their nine year deal just doomed Fielder to an early career-ending weight-unrelated freak injury.
Scott Boras strikes again. A fool and his money will eventually part ways. . . Boras always seems to find the fool!
what happened to fielder saying before the playoffs started he dont want to play for a team his dad use to play for? isnt detroit a big park? his HR’s are going to go down alittle. if i was cabrera id be demanding a trade right about now, the guy couldnt play 3B, and couldnt play the OF and found a home at 1B and then they get fielder? maybe their trading cabrera if they get fielder.
they will NOT trade Cabrera.
how do you know? are you there to listen in on what their saying in their office? are you the gm? or even the owner? no i didnt think so, so you dont know exactly what their thinking.
Cabrera agreed to move to a different position so…
What happened to Fielders comment about not wanting to play for a team his dad did? Um….there are 214 million reasons that changed his mind.
Fielder is going to play a little center to give Jackson a rest.
lol wut
Unbelievable world series here we come!!!!
Well, we had his Daddy before…
What happens to Miggy then? They already have a DH in V-Mart. Lets see how this turns out.
Who hits cleanup? 3)Miggy 4)Prince 4)V-Mart or 3)Prince 4)Miggy 5)V-Mart
V-Mart is done for the season. Torn ACL.
“V-Mart”?? really? How about we just start calling Fielder “P-Field”?
VMart getting hurt is why this happened.
Noooooo I wanted him out of the AL unless it was with the Rangers…
I think its a good signning but I think Delmon Young days are numbered long term if so. I am prayimg still for a Prado/Young swap. I’m also not sure what this means longterm for Victor Martinez now.
that rumor never made it off the runway
Not going to happen .
like father & son both played for Detroit..
9 years $200+ million
bahahaha!!!!! Pleeeze.
Wow. I guess they think V-Mart will be back behind the plate after the knee injury, otherwise where do you play V-Mart, Prince, and Cabrera in 2013?
V-Mart may have to be trade fodder. Tigers may have to sell low after the injury.
Put em all in the outfield. They could use the extra running.
My guess is VMart stil DHs. Prince will be probably 1B and Miggy will probably be 3B or LF.
This fixes their DH problem but also creates a logjam after. Oh, and 9 years? Wat.
This seems like an overreaction to Martinez, but you have to give them credit for gigantic nuts. Still can’t help but think they’ll regret this before the contract is done. Hopefully there are a bunch of options or maybe an opt-out or something that could make it less than nine years.
those are bowlingballs not nuts.
Let’s say Prince Fielder is the 5th best 1B in baseball, behind Pujols, Cabrera, Votto, and Gonzalez. That eliminates the Angels, Tigers, Reds, and Sox, right?
well obviously cabrera is no longer one of the best 1B as he will be moving bakc to either the OF or 3B lol
You’ve gotta be kidding me. I hope Boras takes them to the cleaners at least. I want a payroll crippler.
9 years is pretty crippling as it is.
Please let this happen!!! Don’t let the Rangers get him!
This guy needs his underwear changed. Like now. My coworkers are looking at me and holding their noses.
Ok, what!?
i get that fielder represents an upgrade on almost any team, but the tigers are one of the few where he doesn’t represent a very big upgrade, unless they move miggy back to 3rd, and yeah, no.
what happens to victor martinez? or even alex avila now? if they want martinez catching there’s no room for avila, and vice-versa
and 9 years is too much
otherwise congratulations tigers, you guys got yourself a hell of a hitter
tim brown let the world know of alberts signing and prince.
Holy unexpected batman!!!!
i would much rather have fielder then victor
As an Indians fan with delusions of contention in the near future…this is the worst news I’ve gotten all off season.
Who plays first for the AL in the All-Star game now? Prince Fielder, Albert Pujols, Adrian Gonzalez, Mark Teixeira, Justin Morneau, Paul Konerko, Eric Hosmer, etc..
Who the heck cares about the All-Star Game?
Well we did have his Daddy before…
prince and miggy is unstoppable
What?!?!? This is way off base
How does this make sense at all? I mean adding fielder to any team helps( assuming he doesnt pull a Dunn) but they already had a bad fielding 1st basemen in miggy… This makes no sense unless they play on trading vmart when he is healthy again or actually trying to play miggy at 3rd again. This has potential to be amazing but just a’s much to blow up in their faces!
The… uh… the Washington… Tigers?
They know they have VMart thru 2014 right? They’re expecting him to CATCH? o.o Also, I thought word was Prince wouldn’t take a primarily DH role, but I guess nine years will do that…
PF Flyer isn’t going to the Rangers??? Woooo Hoooo
Boras strikes again. The Tigers are about to make a careless stupid move. The Tigers must be too excited at what Boras is dishing right now to see the truth in the 9 year deal.
Well, we had his Daddy in the past…
Fielder – 9 yr/ 200 million ( just assuming since the nats offered 7 yrs/170 million)
Cabrera – 8 yr/ 152 million
Verlander – 80 million
V-Mart- 4 yr 50 million
why stop there, sign edwin jackson and roy oswalt too. lol
So, how many times will teams be able to bunt base hit towards 1B or 3B this year?
Two hours ago I posted that as a Tigers fan I had no dog in the Prince Fielder fight and therefore hope he signed with the Nationals.
I stand corrected.
Whatever happened to that “I won’t play for any team that my Dad played for”
Mr Illitch said in NOvember he was gonna make a big signing!
WOOOOOOOT!
and the speculation begins for positional musical chairs in 2013!
Miguel to 3b? to LF? Avila to 3b or lf? VMart traded?
3b will be open with Inge gone, and LF will be open with DY2 gone…
It gives Cabrera a year to get in shape…wow
AJax/Boesch/Cabrera/Fielder/Avila/DY2/Peralta/Raburn /Inge vs LHP
and platoon flip Santiago and Kelly vs righties…
then in 2013-14 add Vmart in the 5 hole and Castellanos and subtract DY2 and Inge? WOOOOT
For people asking “But where does Martinez play next year?!”:
When you have the opportunity to sign a 27 year old Prince Fielder you
don’t worry about where you’re going to play a 34 year old Victor
Martinez coming off a major injury.
Either Cabrera makes the move back to third or V-Mart will be traded.
Either way, the Tigers would be better off than they were before.