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Prince Fielder

Gammons On Fielder, Madson, Cook

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The relative inactivity of the Yankees and Red Sox on the market for expensive free agents has rendered this offseason a strange one, writes Peter Gammons of MLB.com. Both clubs are concerned about the luxury tax in both the short and long terms, one GM tells Gammons. Here are some other tidbits of note …

  • Gammons wonders whether there’s a fit for free agent Prince Fielder other than the Nationals: “Where is there a team with local media rights that Fielder could impact? And local media rights is what's driving the cars these days, as Albert Pujols knows.”
  • However, if the Rangers get a deal done with Yu Darvish, the "Fielder watch will come into focus," especially if the Nationals back off and Prince doesn’t want to play for the Mariners.
  • As for Ryan Madson, the race between the Angels and Rangers for supremacy in the AL West could re-shape the market for the free agent closer. Halos GM Jerry Dipoto, in particular, is keeping an eye on the right-hander to see if his price comes down.
  • The Red Sox are looking at lefty Paul Maholm, and they might be interested in Aaron Cook if the righty is amenable to signing a minor league deal with incentives. Cook has a history with new Boston pitching coach Bob McClure.
  • The Red Sox inked right-hander Carlos Silva in hopes of making him 2012’s Freddy Garcia, who was a nice value signing for the Yankees on a one-year, $1.5MM deal last season.

Olney’s Latest: Red Sox, Fielder, Cubs, Mariners

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In today's Insider-only blog post, ESPN's Buster Olney wrote about how Daniel Bard's potential transition to rotation could turn the Red Sox's staff from a question mark into a strength. He says they will look to add a starter or two via free agency as the asking prices drop, and notes that the Yankees are taking a similar approach. Here are the rest of Olney's rumors…

  • The acquisition of Anthony Rizzo changes nothing for the Cubs and their pursuit of Prince Fielder. Olney calls it an "apples and oranges" situation given the price tag of the two players. The Cubs' brass has been acting with zero urgency in talks with Fielder, and they've always been leery about giving him a long-term deal.
  • The team most interested in Fielder — and most willing to pay big — might be the Mariners. Whether or not he wants to play in Seattle is another matter.
  • Baseball officials as well as some in the union are under the assumption that the playoff field will be increased to ten teams in 2012. Playoff expansion will happen in 2013, but the new collective bargaining agreement gives the league the option of putting it in play this year.

This post has been corrected to say that the Mariners "might be" the club most interested in Fielder, not that they are.

Prince Fielder Rumors: Friday

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Nationals GM Mike Rizzo said yesterday that first base is “settled” in Washington, but acknowledged that Prince Fielder will make a major impact on his next team. The Nationals continue to be linked to Fielder, though they say they're content with Adam LaRoche at first base. Here's the latest on Fielder, with the most recent rumors up top:

  • The Rangers have “one eye” on Fielder, but locking up Yu Darvish remains their number one goal, tweets Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. If they sign Darvish, as expected, the chances of a deal with Fielder will drop.
  • In some corners of the Nationals organization, there’s “great skepticism” about a very long-term deal for Fielder, tweets ESPN.com’s Buster Olney. Owner Ted Lerner figures to have the final say in the matter.

Prince Fielder Rumors: Thursday

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Nationals GM Mike Rizzo says his position on Prince Fielder has not changed since the Winter Meetings, according to Amanda Comak of the Washington Times. Washington is committed to Adam LaRoche and first base is “settled,” the GM said. Rizzo acknowledged Fielder’s value, saying he’ll help any club he’s with, but pointed out that the Nationals are often bandied about as a possible suitor for unsigned Scott Boras clients. Here are the details on Fielder:

  • The Nationals appear to be “deep in the mix” for Fielder and as many as eight other teams are showing some level of interest, according to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com.
  • Some Marlins executives have said they aren’t going to pursue Fielder, but it appears some front office members are intrigued, according to Heyman.
  • The Cubs and Blue Jays don’t appear to be willing to offer more than five years, according to Heyman.
  • ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick previews what lies ahead for Boras’ many remaining unsigned clients, including the ‘PF Flyer.’ Crasnick says we can’t count out the Cubs, who are lingering on the fringe of the Fielder sweepstakes.
  • One GM called the Mariners a "darkhorse" for Fielder and suggested GM Jack Zduriencik may feel pressure to respond to splashy moves by the Rangers and Angels.

Olney On Fielder, Zambrano, Rays, Garza

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There’s been lots of buzz about a possible deal between Prince Fielder and the Nationals this week, so ESPN.com’s Buster Olney asked some talent evaluators about the impact the free agent first baseman would have in Washington. One evaluator says adding Fielder would make the Nationals “an immediate threat in the NL East” and another guesses Fielder would boost the organization's revenues. Here are the rest of Olney’s rumors, starting in the NL East:

  • Some Marlins people aren’t convinced Carlos Zambrano’s stuff is good enough for him to be a frontline pitcher again, Olney writes. However, the Miami front office believes he’s worth the risk at $2.5MM.
  • Olney wonders if the Rays have interest in Daniel Murphy of the Mets. The Rays need a first baseman and the 26-year-old posted a .320/.362/.448 line in 423 plate appearances last year while playing first, second, third and left field.
  • Many talent evaluators consider Matt Garza a middle-of-the-rotation starter, which may contribute to the gap between the Cubs’ asking price and what rival teams have been offering in trade talks, Olney writes.

Rangers Notes: Napoli, Fielder, Darvish, Bullpen

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Yesterday we heard that Yu Darvish was in the Dallas-Forth Worth Metroplex to see the area as well as the Rangers' operations first-hand. No deal is close though, and the two sides have 13 days to get one done. Here's the latest from Texas, courtesy of MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan…

  • "We love Mike and we're not closing the door on anything but right now we are focused on a one-year deal," said Daniels in reference to a long-term deal for Mike Napoli. The backstop is arbitration-eligible for the final time and projects to earn $8.5MM in 2012. The two sides were discussing a long-term deal last month.
  • Daniels made it clear the team is not interested in Prince Fielder as their focus right now is on Darvish. If something falls apart with the righty, Sullivan speculates that they could turn their attention to Fielder.
  • The Rangers are still interested in upgrading their bullpen, with lefty relief being a primary focus. Texas recently lost southpaw Darren Oliver to the Blue Jays.

Orioles Rumors: Adam Jones, Tommy Hanson, Fielder

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The Orioles acquired Jai Miller today and also sent Brandon Snyder to Texas.  The latest on the team…

  • Executive vice president of baseball operations Dan Duquette told Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com he wants to improve the Orioles' "on-base capability from top to bottom."  Duquette isn't sure he currently has a .380 OBP guy, and isn't sure if his second baseman is currently on the roster.  The free agents with the best 2011 OBPs include Casey Kotchman, Chris Snyder, Carlos Pena, and Pat Burrell.
  • The Orioles haven't made contract with Luke Scott since non-tendering him on December 12th, reports Kubatko.    
  • The Orioles are fairly confident they will add another outfielder, though that wouldn't necessarily portend an Adam Jones trade, writes Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun.  The Orioles were not overly intrigued by the Braves' offer of Jair Jurrjens, Martin Prado, and a minor league pitcher.  Connolly doesn't see Jurrjens as a centerpiece for a Jones trade.  Instead, the Orioles are intrigued by Tommy Hanson.
  • Connolly notes that an extension remains possible for Jones, who is under team control for two more years.  January is always a big month for extensions.
  • An Orioles source told Connolly they would not offer Prince Fielder the seven-year, $140MM deal Mark Teixeira rejected three years ago.  For the Orioles to sign Fielder, Connolly feels that his market would have to completely collapse, and he finds that highly unlikely.  Connolly reiterates that agent Scott Boras and Fielder "did not meet with [Orioles owner] Peter Angelos despite being in the area – which I thought should demonstrate once and for all that the Orioles really aren’t anywhere near the frontburner of this issue and Fielder's side isn't forcing it." 

Nationals Ownership Meets With Boras About Fielder

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Yesterday we learned from Scott Boras that "there's a lot of passengers on the PF Flyer," and Prince Fielder is best described as a combination of Henry Kissinger and Frank Howard (courtesy of Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post).  The latest on the PF Flyer…

  • The Nationals' ownership recently met with Boras in Washington, D.C. to discuss Fielder, reports MLB.com's Bill Ladson.  As you might expect, the Lerners will make the final decision on Fielder.
  • Many in the industry believe Boras seeks an opt-out clause for Fielder, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.  Rosenthal's source notes that opt-outs clearly favor players, in that the team assumes the risk of keeping him if he's underperforming and losing him if not.  Still, I think there are scenarios where a player can opt out and the team can avoid the worst part of a long-term contract.  If Fielder rakes for three years and a team pays him $75MM, quitting while they're ahead at that point can work, even if Fielder has a few more good years in him.

Nationals Emerge As Favorite For Fielder?

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5:11pm: The Nationals’ local TV revenue is about to “double, triple or more,” a source tells Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.  Owner Ted Lerner is already the wealthiest in MLB, according to Forbes.  One of Rosenthal’s sources expects the Nationals to sign Fielder, though the first baseman will want a full no-trade clause.  LaRoche’s presence on the roster wouldn't stop the team from making a move, Rosenthal writes.

2:17pm: Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post has quotes from the always-colorful Scott Boras:

"As I’ve told many, there’s a lot of passengers on the PF Flyer.  I keep having discussions with teams, and they keep coming back after those discussions. We are having a very robust and constant communication with many teams.  We’ve had an opportunity over the last 10 days to certainly get more definition, I would say. Normally in free agency, after a period of time you have teams that move to the background. When we think that’s happened, those teams have called back and they’ve changed their position."

The Lerner family's stance against a big-money splash has thawed, writes Kilgore.  Who better to pursue than a man Boras describes as "a combination of Henry Kissinger and Frank Howard?"

10:34am: One MLB official told Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel recently that "word is spreading in the industry that the Washington Nationals have emerged as the favorite" to sign Prince Fielder.

What to make of this rumor?  Haudricourt is reliable, but he made it clear that he is relaying the opinion of "the industry" as passed through one MLB official.  So the source doesn't appear to be from Scott Boras' camp, nor from the Nationals.  Still, the rumor echoes something ESPN's Buster Olney wrote on Thursday: "Some rival executives strongly believe that Washington will be the eventual landing place for Fielder."   That same day, a Nationals player suggested to Jon Heyman the team was in the mix.  

The biggest obstacle to the Nationals signing Fielder seems to be having Adam LaRoche under contract for one year, which did not seem like a major impediment prior to the offseason.  GM Mike Rizzo left the door open a crack for Fielder last Wednesday when talking to Mike Ferrin on MLB Network Radio, speaking at length about LaRoche but adding, "As far as, are we going to dabble our toe in that [Fielder] water?  Those are decisions that we make early on in the process and we've more or less decided that Adam is going to be our first baseman unless something extraordinary, out of the ordinary happened, that's how we're going to go to Spring Training."

Prince Fielder Rumors: Friday

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A player on the Nationals said the team was still in on Prince Fielder yesterday, even though GM Mike Rizzo recently said that Adam LaRoche will be their first baseman next year. Rival executives believe Prince will eventually end up in Washington, however. Here's are today's rumors about the best remaining unsigned free agent, with the latest news on top…

  • Prince Fielder and agent Scott Boras were in the Baltimore-Washington area when they took their ownership tour this month but did not meet with Orioles owner Peter Angelos, tweets Dan Connolly of The Baltimore Sun (via Twitter).
  • Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com hears that there is no way the Orioles will do eight-plus years at $20MM+ annually for Fielder. The team is also wary of being used as "leverage" against another club, such as the Nationals.
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