Prince Fielder Rumors: Nationals Emerge as Favorite to Sign Fielder
By Editorial Staff
The Prince Fielder rumor mill had been fairly dormant as we rang in the New Year. But yesterday the mill was back in action with the release of one very large rumor. Monday morning Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that word is spreading through the “industry that the Washington Nationals have emerged as a favorite to sign free agent first baseman Prince Fielder”. This caused the release of several other reports regarding the Prince, so let’s take a look at the latest Fielder related rumors.
Haudricourt received his news from an MLB official, not someone tied to the Nationals or Fielder’s agent, Scott Boras.
Still, the Nationals have been significantly tied to Fielder over the past week. Reports have surfaced claiming that people familiar with negotiations believe the Nationals will ultimately provide Fielder with his best offer. An unnamed Nationals player also has come out and said his team is shooting for Fielder this winter.
Following Haudricourt’s article, Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post offered quotes from Boras regarding ongoing talks for Fielder. Boras was not specific with his comments, instead providing readers an overview of the discussions he and clubs are having involving Fielder.
Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports later chimed in with his two cents, stating that money shouldn’t be an issue for the Nationals when it comes to Fielder.
Rosenthal believes it’s silly to think Adam LaRoche and his $9 million are going to stand in the way of Washington inking a player such as Fielder.
He also noted that he’s heard from a major league source that the Nationals local television revenue is supposed to soon “double, triple or more”. Nationals owner Ted Lerner is already listed as the richest in baseball by Forbes.
Considering the market for Fielder, Rosenthal believes the Nationals could make sense as an eventual landing spot for Prince.
Earlier this morning, Rosenthal also reported that Fielder is rumored to be seeking an opt-out clause in any new deal he signs. This obviously would favor Fielder and Boras, because if the player performs, he’s likely gone, and if he fails to produce or gets hurt, he probably won’t be opting out.
You can check out all of the available free agents by position below.