JULY 27: Fielder will undergo surgery to repair a C4/C5 herniation on Friday, according to an announcement from Rangers executive vice president of communications John Blake (Twitter link).
JULY 25: The Rangers expect that first baseman Prince Fielder will undergo neck surgery later this week, Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports on Twitter. There had been some hope that the veteran slugger could avoid a procedure after his recent diagnosis of a herniated disk, but it seems that Fielder is destined to go under the knife.
Details remain unknown, but it seems all but certain that Fielder will miss the remainder of the season. It won’t be the first trip through the process for the veteran, who also ended the 2014 campaign after a neck operation. He bounced back quite well last year, but has never gotten things going in 2016.
The loss of Fielder doesn’t feel terribly consequential, somewhat surprisingly, because he has struggled so badly this year. Despite never finishing a season at anything worse than an approximately league-average batting line, he has limped to a .212/.292/.334 slash. That’s nearly as far off of the league mean (65 OPS+) as Fielder was above it last season (126 OPS+). And it’s a far sight from his peak, when he was one of the better hitters in baseball.
The Rangers will have several alternatives for the immediate future, including expanding the role of youngster Jurickson Profar and, perhaps, eventually giving minor league slugger Joey Gallo a full shot in the majors. But there’s also certainly a chance that the club will look to add a hitter from outside the organization over the next week.
In the longer term, it’s not clear how much value Texas can hope to receive out of Fielder’s monster contract. He’s on the books for $18MM annually for the next four campaigns, even after the team that signed him (the Tigers) kicks in its $6MM per year. It hurts even more to see Ian Kinsler — the player for whom Fielder was dealt in a big-contract swap — putting up one of his best seasons as a big leaguer this year in Detroit.
they bring up Gallo now….no?
They would be throwing him into the lineup in the middle of a pennant chase. If he crumbles they would not have the chance to go out and get a replacement.
Texas would be best served by waiting until next year and having him be the Opening Day first baseman.
Yes
I feel like they don’t trust Gallo at the major league level and want to use him as a trade chip but having him fail in the majors would only hurt his value
Perfect landing spot for Beltran as long as the Rangers are not on his no trade list.
Agree
Good call.
Yankees will send Texiera instead.
Tex back in Texas. Interesting
Maybe they can send both. Along with Miller perhaps.
Along with Miller means along with Gallo and more
he ded
What does his contract look like…how many yrs left?
Never mind I looked. He’s in the last yr of his deal worth $15 mil. So the Rangers pay like what…$7 mil of that? Not having Prince’s $18 mil on the books sure would be nice. Big Papi is still smashing the ball at 40…Prince is like 32 WTF
Sometimes modern medicine works, sometimes it doesn’t.
Am I missing something? I thought Prince signed a nine year deal that doesn’t expire until 2020?
That was an indirect response to acquiring Beltran and his contract status. The Rangers are on the hook for Prince to the tune of $72M over the next 4 years… The insurance policy pays 50%.
Prince’s numbers have been dropping ever since he left Milwaukee. That weight is catching up to him. This is addition by subtraction for Texas. He’s bad in the field, he can’t run the bases and before, he could at least hit. This year….nothing.
Free Joey Gallo
Derek Norris could come over and provide a Mike Napoli-esk value to the Rangers. He can catch, play some first and DH. All be it on a relatively cheap contract and you pair him with Cashner in a trade and that kills two birds with one stone. This could be a moot point though however, if Texas does decide to pony up for Lucroy. Should be an interesting next week.
All be it!
NO NO NO NO NO!!!! They just lost an aging overpaid slugger with limited mobility. The perfect replacement? MATT KEMP!!!! Okay, take Norris and Cashner too, and we’ll even thrown in Buchter… for Profar!
Pretty sure Gallo will be moved as part of a deal for a good controllable starter. He’s not ready to be a contributor to a playoff contender and is available in the right deal.
Problem is every team wants profar and a contending team like the Rangers can’t do that..same Baez with the Cubs..
Cashner + Norris +eating a large chunk of Kemps contract for Profar!!!! make it happen Preller
Kendrys Morales to the Rangers in return for a lower level pitcher? The Royals look to be selling and he can play 1st as a fill in if needed.
*Pitching prospect* Sorry about that.
I think Morales would be an Excellent fit. Good call