The subject of much (or should I say mass) baseball conversation this year can finally be put to rest. Prince Fielder signed with the Detroit Tigers, who came out of nowhere to snatch up the first basemen paying the large (like the player) price of 214 million for 9 years. Man, he’s payed like a prince!
I have long (another pun, but less obvious) been in the ‘sing Prince’ camp but today isn’t very disappointing since, well, look at that price! That is insane. The highest I’d have gone would have been 8 years for 165 million. I’m a big (not as big as Prince) fan of Fielder, but that price just isn’t reasonable for this team. It’s not reasonable for most of this team.
Yes, it’s disappointing that we won’t see Prince in an M’s uniform. I’ve been picturing him hitting homers off the Hit It Here Cafe all off-season but that won’t happen until the Tigers visit. This deal could have strapped the Marines for years to come and the re-signing Felix and the other young talent on the roster would have been much harder had this gone through. Thing about Chone Figgins. When he signed most people thought it was a good deal, myself included. Now, it feels like he’s been here forever but still has 2 years left on his contract. Of course, Fielder is much better than Figgins and will produce to an extent, at least. The point is that by year 7 or 8 of his contract, Fielder could become crippling to the Tigers organization. It may be worth it, but only time will tell.
The truth is, it sounds as if Fielder was never very interested in being here. We don’t know how true that is, but take it for what it’s worth. Hey Prince! We don’t want you for that price either, so take that!
More thoughts after the jump. Bullet Hole time.
- This has been one of the more interesting weeks I’ve seen on Twitter. First, we had Chip Kelly leaving and then not leaving Oregon. There was nothing too crazy about all those reports because they all seemed factual. Then, today Twitter went bananas when some guy acted like the reporter, Jon Heyman, and reported that Fielder had agreed to a contract with the Washington Nationals. People finally realized that this was a fake Jon Heyman (spelled John Heyman) and retracted all their thoughts. Then, several minutes later the real Jon Heyman reported the Fielder deal. I really enjoyed the whole ordeal. I’m guessing that the fake John Heyman enjoyed it too.
- Jack Z met with reporters yesterday following the finalization of the Montero-Pineda trade and didn’t sound overly confident in Montero’s catching ability. Who knows if he’ll be used there, but if not the M’s didn’t really have a spot for Prince. You always find room for talent, but not at that price when you have decent options already.
- So, what’s next? I don’t know. The Mariners should have money. Most people think they are around an 82 Million dollar payroll right now, which could leave them with anywhere from 10 million to 20 million to spend. Where would we spend it though? Third base is an obvious choice but there aren’t many guys out there to acquire. The Mariners will surely take some heat from their fans if they try to trim payroll but if there’s nothing out there to spend it on, I guess I’m fine with it. I’d rather they save it up for next years off-season when they can go after something that fits a need. I’m guessing Jack Z has a plan B and I’m excited to see what it is, but if he doesn’t it’s not the end of the world.
It’s about this time of year where I get anxious for baseball. I don’t know why I get excited, seeing what the M’s have done the last few years but I just look forward to it. Thankfully, only 20 days until pitchers and catchers report! Thankfully, those 20 days won’t be filled with Prince Fielder speculation.
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Love the puns, and I agree with the premise. Woulda liked to have Prince, but not for that price. $214 is just too much, especially considering there are 7 or 8 solid power hitting 1st baseman in baseball.
I’m pretty sure the Mariners were in on Prince until the end. Zduriencik was on KJR on Monday afternoon after the trade, and while he of course wouldn’t say anything, it was still pretty clear that he was working on it. You had to hear to understand, but it was obvious there had been major interest and probably still was. Then on Mitch’s show yesterday morning, he said they’d been talking to a free agent all offseason who finally had just told them he wasn’t going to come west of the Mississippi. It could just be me reading into it, but I think the interest was there until the end.
Whether they would have matched or beat the TIgers offer is a different question. No idea there. I’m mostly glad they didn’t go with something that big, but I would have been okay with it, partly because the Mariners are the only ones with an idea of what they’re going to do with their payroll in coming years. At least he didn’t go to the Rangers.
I think he was talking about Jeff Francis. Just kidding. Yes, thank God he didn’t go to the Rangers.
Good old Jeff Francis. I wish they’d sign him and release him in the same day so we can stop hear.ing his name
The best part of this post is this line: “This deal could have strapped the Marines for years to come.” Well, if that’s true, I’m glad it didn’t happen because I’d hate for a baseball deal to negatively effect our military!
I’m betting the marines get involved! Ha!