Prince Fielder Signs with the Tigers; The Tigers' Newest Fielder

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The goes that mystery team again.

In a development that was not nationally bought into or discussed outside of the the Motor City, the Detroit Tigers have signed the son of former Detroit Tiger's first baseman Cecil Fielder. The move gives the Tigers a replacement and upgrade on Victor Martinez in the DH spot and makes the Tigers shot at repeating in the AL Central that much better.

Four days after GM Dave Dombrowski said Prince would be a "long shot" and "Not a good fit", the GM signed the former Milwaukee Brewers First Baseman to a  Nine year, $214 Million dollar deal paying Fielder an average of nearly $24 million dollars a year, and the Tigers have a power source they have not had since the Elder Fielder signed  with Detroit a little over 20 years ago. So what does this mean for the Tigers, Prince and the league?

For the Tigers, it signals to their fans that they are ready to win this year, next year and the year after with an amazing nucleus of first baseman Miguel Cabrera, Cy Young and MVP winner Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer, Doug Fister, Alex Avila, Delmon Young and Austin Jackson. That doesn't include the aforementioned Victor Martinez' return next year and the three golden arms, Jacob Turner, Drew Smyly and Casey Crosby, that will be ready for the pros in  the next year or two.

This will be an exciting lineup to watch in the next few years as both Miguel Cabrera and Fielder are playing with a players the caliber of each other arguably for the first time in their careers (all due respect to Ryan Braun). This will grossly change the way pitchers can pitch to Cabrera and/or Fielder depending on the lineup configuration. Both are very much used to being the number 4 hitter and being pitched around in nearly 20% of their at bats. Yet, with the signing of Fielder the luxury of doing so may have gone out of the window and pose the possibility of the number four offense from a year ago topping the Yankees, Angels and Red Sox for the top offense in the league.

And this also gives credence and reason, more than his battle of the bulge,( Maybe the psuedo-vegeterian Fielder can implant some better habits on the slugger) for the Tigers to stress Miguel Cabrera to make more progress this offseason to shed weight and get in bette, more agile space to allow Fielder to play first base and allow Cabrera to slide over to third base, where the former shortstop and third baseman played for the Marlins and parts of his time with the Tigers.  His glove will be better than expected by most at the hot corner and will be a development to watch throughout the season.

The ball is now in the Princ'es Court.

As for Prince, this is not a new experience to Prince, well outside of switching to the American League. His father, Cecil, played for the Tigers from 1990 to the middle of 1996, hitting 245 home runs and driving in 758 runs. The younger Fielder would join his father to the old Tigers Stadium as a child, and would regularly take batting practice, even hitting a few out of the stadium as a 12 year old (legend has it he hit one OUT of the stadium as a teen). His return to the City can play one two ways.

And he could be gunning for
the Cecil got from Tigers Fans
from 1990-1996.

Prince has his chance to truly use the chance to play in the city his father played in and use it as a motivator to outdue what his father accomplished during his time there or as jump off point for their relationship to mend. What he says about playing for the Tigers with relation to his father will be a great piece of knowledge on how he currently stands with the elder Fielder.

As for the League? It sends a message. With two of the top three first baseman on the same team, more pitching the team knows what to do with and a sour taste from last season's heartbreaking loss in the ALCS, the Tigers have become the team to beat in the American League. A top 5 offense, a top pitching staff that ranked in the top ten after the all star break last year and a playoff caliber bullpen led by a Champion head Coach in Jim Leyland will be a bear for any team in the AL or NL. They can match power for power with every elite team in the league and show the depth to overtake the Rangers as the league's pennant holder.

Though all is still hypothetical with the season month's away, but the Tigers look ready, right now to win in all later this year.

Victor Martinez Replacement Options

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With the injury to Victor Martinez dealing a blow to the Detroit Tigers lineup, which was fourth in runs scored and third in team batting average, buoyed by Martinez's (103 ribby's and .330 avg.),  the Tigers will begin the scramble for replacement. It will be close to impossible for the Tigers to do so, at least with one player, but the attempt will be made and more than likely completed prior to pitchers and catchers report to Lakeland in February. I want to take I look at the options, by position, give my fix and prognosticate the final end solution that Dombrowski and the Tigers will take.

Free Agency 

The Corners 

Wilson Betemit - 3B - The well traveled and solid career backup has been a Tiger before and it could benefit the Tigers to reacquire the defensively challenged corner utility man. His inability to make the difficult plays at the corners and ability to frustrate a manager, pitcher and fanbase over shadows his ability to hit right handed pitching and hit well, to a .303 clip in 2011 with a .500 slugging percentage. However, its his inability to hit lefties, (.236/.281/.326) leaves him as an obvious platoon type player best suited for just that or a bench role. At his age and defensive shortcomings not dismissed, a bench spot even may be a stretch over Andy Dirks, Brandon Inge and even Clete Thomas, which all are comparable batters and provide more defensive aptitude and versatility. 

Casey Kotchman - 1B/DH - The name that rumor mills are clamoring over as a fill in for most teams is Casey Kotchman. The Rays first baseman free agent sports a solid glove at first, a major league bat, durability and solid at bats against both rights (.313 last season) and lefties (.289). He would not cost alot and could be a solid one year rental. He does however to disappear and his lack of prototypical power from two primary position of power (1B and DH) could lead the Tigers to feel a pinch at times on the offensive side of the ball.

Derrek Lee - 1B/DH - Derrek Lee is like a Casey Kotchman type with more pop, and about 8 years older. He would be about 5 million more and may not heat up until the temperature does. He has seen his the variance between his 1st half/2nd half OPS. go from .865/1.092 in 09', .695/.888 in 10' and  .666/.995 last year. He provides a proven bat but he is not trending very well right now. He also is platoonable against lefties.


Carlos Pena - 1B/DH - We know all about Carlos Pena's exploits first hand from his time in Detroit and that with great Power comes great strikeout responsibility. He will give you great numbers outside of the K's and average, will give you power and rbi's. He also is more expensive, and you guessed it, a black hole versus lefties.



Prince Fielder - 1B/DH -  The sweepstakes has been under way for sometime now and the Tigers could throw a line in the water to see what they get. The numbers and ability is evident, he can hit lefties AND righties, and would only be the largest contract ever signed by the Tigers in their Club's history. Obviously a hole filler, but would seriously empty the pockets of the Tigers.




Outfield

Vladimir Guerrero - OF/DH - Though his preference will always and forever be the outfield, Guerrero would fit well in  the DH spot. In a lineup that would produce more run scoring possibilities for the aging all star, the rbi numbers could rebound from his career low of 63 with Baltimore, but the power would be nearly gap only in  spacious Comerica Park. I don't think it would be unfair to say he could be a poor man's version of V-MArt, with a .300 average, average pop and run scoring ability. His age and injury history however will be a factor in the scouting of the Impaler, the major determining factor for Tigers management.

Cody Ross - OF - He can provide a substantial upgrade to the Left Field defense and would not be too big of a liability with the bat. He has substantial pop but would be best suited to slide in somewhere in the 7 or 8 holes. His last healthy season saw his splits do well against lefties and righties but a fairly noticeable dip away from home. He could be a solid utility type player two start 80 plus games, but the Tigers bench and AAA have too many players already like this.


Johnny Gomes - OF/DH - A power bat with questionable plate discipline that could do very well in Comerica as his power translates well park to park. His average leaves some to be desire but his fire and ability to galvanize a clubhouse cannot be overstated. He would be a defensive liability but an upgrade on Delmon Young. He could handle both lefties and righties and provide a great sourec of run producing power for the Tigers.


Yoenis Cespedes - OF -You Tube start Yoenis Cespedes is set to become a free agent this week and was already a big target for the Tigers organization. His Dominican League Debut not withstanding, Cespedes is a major talent that can paly in the majors right now. He would be a boon a defense an could settle in nicely in the 5, 6 or 7 hole. He mis pricey, but should be worth the gamble for the right team. But it is still a gamble. Like any prospect, its unknown what you have till he plays a game.

My Choice

If it were me, my first choice would be to trade for a bat. Every available free agent has their marks and could easily see a either a serious drop in production or make the Tigers worse by addition. With Three front line starters in Verlander, Scherzer and Fister, the top three pitching prospects and the rest of the farm should not be off limits to any team if it returns a legitimate piece.
A marginal package could net a Chase Headley, or good one could net a Kendrys Morales and a blockbuster could bring back an Andrew McCutchen, Hanley Ramirez or David Wright while keep the DH role available for next year and locking up a proven MLB talent for at least 4 years. But that is a totally different article.

The Tigers Choice

The Tigers know they have a coach that can make pieces work and I would not be surprised if management add multiple pieces, such as a Pena/Gomes duo, which I think wil be their end result. I also believe that, with the best bat in the system still in A ball (Nick Castellanos) Yoenis Cespedes plus the platoon signing will be the Tigers goal. It remains to be seen, but as the Marlins can attest and the rebuilt Tigers as well, Dave Dombrowksi knows how to fill a hole or two.

Yu Darvish signing was the first Counter is Prince Fielder the next?

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A left, than a right, an uppercut then a body shot. And the season hasn't even started yet. The last team standing between the Rangers and Angels war of wallets, though, may be the last team standing among all 32 when its all said and done.

Pujols in Anaheim makes the AL
West Competition fierce.

The Anaheim Angels were the darlings of the Winter Meetings at the beginning of December, and look to be a force this year and years to come with a loaded roster and a TV deal to make sure it stays that way. The team was pretty darn good to begin with. Jared Weaver gave Justin Verlander quite the run at the CY Young award last year during which he posted a 2.41 ERA, 181 strikeouts and won 18 games. His partner at the the top of the rotation, Dan Haren, was more than a Robin to Weaver's Batman, 3.17 ERA 192 strikeouts and 16 wins of his own. Ervin Santana Rounded out the rotation with the stellar numbers of his own making the Angels rotation the best in the division, one of the best in the league and the primary reason the Angels stayed competitive in the AL West. However, with a record of 21-23 among the big three in one run games, the necessity to add to the offense and enable the Angels to take advantage of their best pitchers best efforts was paramount. With a defense that sported baseball's top defensive zone rated second baseman in Howie Kendrick, the AL Gold Glove winner at shortstop in Eric Aybar, an amazing talent with Mike Trout in center and two former center fielders in left (Vernon Wells) and right (Tori Hunter), the defense was impeccable and gave the pitchers more margin of error than most.

However, the majority of their bats could not hold, with Trout struggling in his first taste in the majors, a third base hole that ranked 10th in the AL in OPS, injuries to their potent first baseman Kendry Morales and regressions by Tori Hunter, Vernon Wells, and Bobby Abreu.

Kendry may be the real
key to a top 5 offense.

Enter Albert Pujols and Former Ranger C.J. Wilson. This is where it gets very interesting. Pujols is a star on both sides of the ball, in the dugout and on the practice field. His gold glove defense at first can only help an already great defense. His otherworldly bat, paired nicely with new contract and clear mind, transforms his teams lineup from pedestrian to formidable, which becomes top 10 with the return of a healthy Kendry Morales. With speed and OBP (Mike Trout, Eric Aybar) at the top, solid average and run producing in the middle (Hendricks, Pujols, Morales, Trumbo), and markedly better hitters than your average 7,8.9 hitters (Tori Hunter, Vernon Wells, Chris Ianetta) and this lineup can hold up with the best of them. At the very least it will do well to improve that 1 run game record, don't you think?

It sure will help C.J. Wilson, who was an ace on the Rangers, will settle in nicely as a number three starter behind Weaver and Haren. Though the defenses are similar, the ballparks of the Angels and the Rangers are on completely separate parts of the pitching spectrum. While the Ballpark in Arlington adds almost a half a run more to the average ballgame, tops in baseball, whereas the Angels Stadium of Anaheim removes nearly one fifth from the average, 27th in baseball. Though the Angels Stadium of Anaheim does allow 2.40 homers a game, 8th most in the league, C.J. Wilson's 6.3% road home run rate will do just fine at the Angels Diggs.


With aaaaalllll that said, what do the Rangers have to say?

Potential. Potential. Potential.

Well happy you would ask. From the looks of it the Rangers have started their counter and will throw the second half of that counter after the first one lands with sound and solid force. When not masked as boxing terms, the counter moves to C.J. Wilson and Albert Pujols are the two players most linked to and compared to the newest Angels players; Yu Darvish and Prince Fielder. The first half of that free agent wallop is a 25 wonder kid named the best pitcher in Japanese professional baseball. The Japanese ace agreed to a six-year deal worth approximately $60 million on Wednesday. Now aside from the frightful comparisons and possible career similarities to one Daisuke Matusaka, this owner of a 95 mile per hour plus heater, 87 mph plus slider, a game ready curve and enough extra pitches to have  you scouring you tube for a glimpse. Over a five year career in Japan he's averaged nearly 10 strikeouts per 9 to only 2 walks per nine, 200 plus innings, less than .900 walks and hits per nine and enough brush backs and HBP's to let hitters and Nolan Ryan know he means business. But its more than the numbers that help push him to greatness and away from Dice-K-Land. It's the inning eater size to defy injuries. It's the American background with his parents and constant competition in American sponsored tournaments that will make his transition much smoother than any pitcher before him. It's the potential and dream of him pitching like a young Josh Beckett. His potential is endless and the money may be a deal, $111 million over 6 years when all said and done.

Nolan Ryan won't go quietly. 

The second part of that double whammy is the less certain but the more and more evident second part of that punch is the eventual signing of the best free agent not named Albert Pujols, Prince Fielder. The way things are shaping up and the way we have seen the Rangers operate recently, its apparent what their plan has been. It became apparent that the Rangers were moving on from Wilson and to Darvish when Wilson price himself into the 100 million range and the Rangers realized the same amount of money could get a younger, bigger, harder throwing prospect that could end up a better major leaguer than C.J. It then became apparent that Prince Fielder would not sign anywhere soon, that the Rangers took notice and knew they could focus their initial efforts on Darvish. Then, teams started knocking themselves out of the Fielder sweepstakes. The Yankees were never in it. 2/3 of the league can't afford him. The Angels grabbed Pujols and the Blue Jays won't agree to the years Fielder wants. And the Mariners? Sorry, but you are not the mystery team, your Boras goat to be used for raising the price ONLY. Who does that leave? The Orioles, the Nationals, Miami Marlins and Texas Rangers. Now considering that Fielder can win and make the same money in Washington, Miami and Texas, Baltimore is out. The fact that he prefers warm whether, according to his hometown and current home city of Orlando, the Capitol will have to settle for only one larger than life African American leader (though he may be gone soon). That leaves Miami and Texas. Its hard for me to believe that Miami is serious about spending much more money on Prince due to them counting on ticket sales that aren't there yet for cash, and the fact that they seem to be trying to bring in the Hispanic and Latino crowd with their free agent targets (Get ready for Cespedes Floridians of Cuban Decent!) That leaves the Texas Rangers as the most logical and likely final destination for the slugger.

Prince would make Texas an All Time offense and let the
Halos know that this won't be easy.

With those pieces in place the Rangers would be set to battle the Angels in what may rival the Red Sox and Yankees for the most exciting divisional matchups of the next five years. Buster Olney of ESPN called the Rangers rotation, minus both Yu and C.J. the sixth best rotation in baseball. And a lineup with Andrus, Kinsler at the top, Hamilton Fielder, Young , Cruz in the middle, and Napoli, Moreland and the winner of the center field job here and the Rangers lineup goes from the team with the best batting average and third most runs scored of the 2011 season to a possible legendary lineup, a Murderer's Row of sorts.

He's on his way Texas, and he definitely fits the analogy, everything is bigger in Texas.

So the Angels strike first and sway the league and the Defending AL Champs. Pujols is amazing and C.J. is a winner. But Nolan Ryan doesn't duck from a fight, and he always wants to win, battles or wars. With Yu almost under contract and Texas the most logical landing spot for the Biggest player in the union, Prince Fielder, Texas isn't ready to give up the West crown any time soon.

Looks like we got a slug fest on our hands, Ali - Frazier style.