Prince Fielder Rumors
By Editorial Staff
Yesterday we looked at the murkiness that is the Prince Fielder market. While the Rangers were named as a front-runner to sign Fielder Thursday, Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports named the Cubs as his favorite to bring in the slugging first baseman. Rosenthal admitted that “we know only so much” regarding Fielder. Here’s what we do know so far; check out the latest rumors revolving around Prince Fielder.
Rosenthal cautions that, though he sees the Cubs as front-runners for Fielder, “no one should schedule a news conference at Wrigley”. But, from what he is hearing from his sources, it seems like the Fielder sweepstakes will come down to the Cubs and Mariners. To Rosenthal, Chicago “makes far more sense” for Fielder.
Just to show the haze that continues to cover the Fielder market, Cubs manager Dale Sveum told Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times that Chicago hasn’t “initiated any contact at all” with Prince. According to Sveum, the rumors of Fielder to the Cubs are just a “lot of media talk”.
You could say the club is just playing coy with the media. But time after time Fielder has had his name attached to “favorites” or “front-runners” only to have these teams come out and deny reports.
Running down the list of usual suspects tied to Fielder, Rosenthal notes that the Rangers and Marlins are not expected to get in on the bidding for Prince. Rosenthal calls the Orioles, another of Fielder’s potential suitors, the “eastern version of the Mariners” and will only be a viable option if Prince lacks better choices.
Fielder has already had the bar set for him this offseason. Albert Pujols got 10 years and $250 million from the Angels. While he may not sport the career numbers of Pujols, he is still only 27-years-old. Of course Fielder and his agent Scott Boras are going to target the payday Pujols received at the end of last week’s Winter Meetings.
But, teams are going to have to be willing to extend such a deal before Fielder can accept it. We already know that teams are hesitant to offer Fielder 10 years. The Prince’s weight issues are well documented, and no one is sure how long he can last.
Because this is the case, teams seem to be starting the bidding at five-years at a higher annual salary. It’s probably going to take a longer commitment than that, and Rosenthal says the Cubs would be willing to go seven to eight years for Fielder but no higher.
While a serious market has yet to develop for Fielder, one of Rosenthal’s sources reminds us that Boras often finds a way to “pull a rabbit out of his hat”.
Perhaps Boras’s strongest negotiating tactic is the lack of future impact bats that will hit free agent market. The Cubs have certainly considered this, as have other teams around the league. Rosenthal notes that comparable players such as Joey Votto and Mike Stanton are two and five years from free agency, and it’s not a given that they end up on the open market.
Still, no one has been willing to seriously engage in talks with Boras. This seems to be alright with the super-agent. Boras will likely let the market simmer and a friend of Fielder has noted that the hefty slugger is in no rush either this winter. According to his friend, Fielder’s though is “If he gets a great deal soon, awesome. If not there is no one like him on the market. Some team is going to come get him.”
You can check out all of the available free agents by position below.