Brewers owner Mark Attanasio believes that Prince Fielder is at his maximum trade-market value right now, writes Don Walker of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Fielder is due to receive $10.5MM on the back end of a two-year $18MM agreement and is hitting .297/.406/.596 with 43 HRs. With that level of production and a reasonable contract, Fielder could fetch an awful lot – especially from AL squads that could put him at DH.
While Attanasio says that he doesn't like thinking about the Brewers sans Fielder, he also acknowledged that one player's strong performance doesn't automatically translate into wins.
At the same time, the Brewers clearly hit a string of bad luck as they lost Rickie Weeks in May and saw their pitching flounder with a team ERA of 4.75 – the fourth worst in the majors. It's logical to think that the Brewers will see a marked improvement from their club if they stand pat, stay healthy and get better performances out of J.J. Hardy and Corey Hart.
Is it in Milwaukee's best interest to dangle Fielder this winter? Or would they instead be better off keeping the 25-year-old and looking to improve by other means? Should they consider signing him to a long-term deal? Let's hear your thoughts in the comments.
