Yesterday and this morning, a few additional tidbits of information have been released regarding the Prince Fielder sweepstakes. Yesterday, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reported that the Nationals have Fielder on their radar. Along with the Nationals, the Cubs, Rangers, Mariners, Marlins, Brewers and Orioles have all been tied to Fielder this offseason. Meanwhile, Buster Olney of ESPN has released several more details regarding Fielder’s next contract. Let’s take a look at the latest Prince Fielder rumors.
Olney is reporting that, while Fielder and Boras are still seeking a 10-year deal, suitors are interested in something more in the range of a six-year contract. This falls in line with previous reports stating that clubs are uneasy about extending such an extremely long-term offer to Fielder due to his weight.
A shorter-term contract could appeal to potential teams as well as Fielder and Boras. Currently 27-years-old, if Fielder signs a five-year deal this offseason, he would be able to once again hit the free agent market at the age of 32. If his body hasn’t deteriorated that badly, Fielder may be able to ink another long-term deal at that point.
Of course, Boras will continue to let the market for Fielder simmer as he tries and cajole clubs into handing his client Albert Pujols-like offers. It’s being reported that Fielder already has several offers on the table, but none of them are to Boras’ liking.
While Olney says a team could just elect to throw a ton of money at Fielder, he finds it more likely that Prince’s suitors will wait for Boras’ asking price to drop.
You can check out all of the available free agents by position below.