The latest on free agent slugger Prince Fielder…
- Fielder is too pricey to fit into the Dodgers' plans, writes Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times. That point is illustrated by GM Ned Colletti's rhetorical response when asked about the free agent slugger on Monday: "Can we sign Prince for $3 million this year and $30 million the next year?"
- Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik seemed to suggest today that the Mariners have discussed Fielder with Scott Boras, writes MLB.com's Greg Johns. Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times views the GM's comments as a sign that the M's are in a holding pattern, waiting to see if Fielder's price tag will come down.
- The Nationals are focused on pitching, and won't be a player for Fielder or Albert Pujols, a Nats source tells Jim Bowden of MLB Network Radio (Twitter link).
- The Brewers are indicating that they're out of the running for Fielder and are moving on, tweets ESPN.com's Buster Olney.
- The market for Fielder appears to be shrinking, hears Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel from team executives.
- A person who knows Fielder tells ESPN's Jerry Crasnick comfort is important to the slugger and he's not necessarily going to chase the most money.
- The Orioles are interested in Fielder, confirmed GM Dan Duquette. However, Duquette also told Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com that he doesn't want fans to get their hopes up. The Orioles' interest in Fielder is the secret mandate of owner Peter Angelos, tweets SI's Jon Heyman. I think a team's owner will be involved no matter where Fielder signs.
Well at least Duquette tells us more, unlike MacFail, I can neither confirm, nor deny. Also, if he did confirm something, it was always something I never wanted confirmed!
Anyway, I hope we stay away from Fielder. I do not want him!
Why dont we want him. On the other hand we are also interested in Ortiz which we have no chance but Damon we might get
Duquette isn’t actually interested in Ortiz.
Duquette isn’t actually interested in Ortiz.
I think Fielder would be a huge asset to Baltimore. He provides an instant boost in the lineup and has proven he’s good with the leather too. He would make everyone in the lineup better and give Markakis protection. The pitching staff would be thrilled as well.
Count Seattle out now.
Why?
Prince needs to be a cubby i want him to smash balls out of the park and i mean out of the park
Him or Pujols will do.
“i want him to smash balls out of the park and i mean out of the park”
Ortiz could do that for ya.. Think Epstein could find a designated “Fielder” for him…..
Oh trust me we won’t get our hopes up!!
fielder would paint eutaw street bronze. the orioles aren’t ready, but if they want a power hitting 1B in the next couple years, this is their best bet with NYY, BOS, and NYM seemingly out, and LAA and LAD being quiet so far. glad pujols is a FA this year as well.
So this is the new, kinder, gentler Duquette I’ve heard so much about?
How nice to spare the fans feelings by crushing their hopes before they can even be raised.
It would be a great fit for the Orioles. They’d have one of the top offenses in baseball if they were to fit him into that cleanup spot… they were already like 4th in homers last year.
They just gotta hope they can score more than they give up!
Who in the current Oriole line-up would provide protection for Fielder? No one!
Reynolds or Jones
hahaha! You can’t be serious.
yea im serious they can handle it, its not that hard to just add protection. Yes Reynolds will strikeout a lot but hes still gonna give you 35 homers a year and you cant just pitch around both of them. Without the chance that one of them will hit a homerun.
if you pitch around fielder, he will probably walk
if you pitch around reynolds, he will probably strike out
You do realize that Mark Reynolds has a pretty high walk rate right?
he’s actually never looked up stats in his life, he just makes stuff up.
… but in all seriousnes..
Reynolds has a career obp of .331.. he does take his walks, but he doesn’t make enough contract to get on base at a good rate
If the Orioles only added Fielder, they would be looking at a lineup something like this:
2B Roberts/LF Reimold
RF Markakis
SS Hardy
1B Fielder
DH Reynolds
CF Jones
C Wieters
3B Davis/Andino
LF Reimold/2B Andino
Not a bad offense, but they’d still have one of the worst pitching staffs in baseball. You’d think they’d bat Jones third and Hardy sixth, though.
Why does Fielder need protection?
Exactly. He had Casey McGehee hitting behind him most of the year.
Because he doesn’t have the financial security of a long term deal yet and isn’t quite convinced he can support children.
Oh, you meant lineup protection? Yeah, that’s a myth.
Oy ve. Again with the protection.
Who in Milwaukee was providing protection for him the past few seasons?
Uh, Ryan Braun?
How so? Braun hitting 3rd and Prince hitting 4th does not equal “protection”.
The 5 spot in MKE was a platoon of Corey Hart, Casey McGehee, and Rickie Weeks.
Protection doesn’t necessarily have to come from the 5th spot for a cleanup hitter–it’s preferable but if Braun is on base alot they”re forced to give Fileder better pitches or if Braun is hot then they have to be careful with him and again Fielder gets better pitches
Which is why Fielder is not necessarily a savvy move. He makes an already pretty good offense better, but leaves them with much less room to fix their real problem of an absolutely awful pitching corps. People tend to quietly forget that the Orioles actually had a better offense than the Rays and Phillies last year (They missed top ten status by a single point in wOBA).
The only problem there is that the Orioles aren’t willing to offer the types of contracts the free agent starters are willing to sign.
Andy MacPhail was against anything more than three years for starters, and Duquette seems to agree with that sentiment.
So, when the dust settles after what I expect to be a crazy winter, I’ll bet that the Orioles end up falling short on Fielder as well as the handful of FA starters they might be interested in.
U never know.anything can happen at winter meetings
Well, also the O’s owner Peter Angelos makes you beg at his feet for your paycheck every other week. That contract clause has a tendency to rub free agents the wrong way.
Top Offenses? Except we could never get anyone on base. They hit a lot of homeruns with the bases empty. Their offense was average thats it. I would love to see Prince with the O’s at the right price, but the chances of that are slim at best.
Duquette seems brash enough to do it thought, doesn’t he?
I can honestly see something like 7/160 happening. Not that it would be a good decision for the O’s.
Anyway…
The Marlins are most likely out after spending all of that money on Bell and Reyes.
Pujols seems destined to end up staying in St. Louis.
The Cubs have the cash, but I see them restructuring/rebuilding more this year and next year, especially with Joey Votto coming up on free agency in 2014.
I can’t see any other NL team giving Fielder/Boras the years they’re looking for.
So that leaves the Orioles, Mariners and Blue Jays.
I’ll be he ends up with one of those three…
I am still scared the yankees or redsox are gonna come out and be like nope we signed him. Full time DH. For some reason i could see that happening.
I definitely don’t see the Red Sox doing that, but it doesn’t seem that far out of the realm of possibility for the Yankees.
Of course, the Yanks are in desperate need of another starter, so they’ll probably be focusing their funds on Wilson and/or Darvish.
The Yanks won’t do it because they need to leave the DH spot open for A-Rod or Jeter when it becomes obvious they can’t play in the field anymore. Plus they already have Montero
Dude…chances of Votto hitting FA in 2014 are about as good as Soto hitting 25 hr every year until then. In theory it could actually happen, but seriously do you really think it will? Voto will be locked up long before then
After seeing the contracts that Mark Teixeira, Adrian Gonzalez and Ryan Howard have signed, as well as the contracts that Albert Pujols and Prince Fielder will sign, do you really think that Votto, who will hit free agency at 30 with at least one MVP Award under his belt, is going to pass up on free agency?
One of your examples actually passed up free agency, just so we’re all clear.
Additionally, if Votto does hit free agency, there’ll be six teams (Yankees, Red Sox, Tigers, Phillies and whoever signs Pujols and Fielder) who won’t have a spot for him. Signing an extension if it’s commensurate with what Teixeira or Gonzalez got may be the smart move for him as the list of teams that will pay for him may be very thing for him by then, especially if any of Smoak, Freeman, Belt, Rizzo and Trumbo catch on.
Indeed he did.
But Howard got 5/125 from the Phillies. There’s no way the Reds could afford that kind of deal.
By who? Not the Reds. That means they would have to move him to a team that would be willing to extend him. Votto would then have to want to be extended. If the Reds move him only a season before FA, why wouldn’t he just wait to hit FA and cash in?
The Orioles needed a leadoff hitter last year and they would have been really good offensively.
In other news, I’m interested in Elisha Cuthbert. I am “cautiously confirming” that I may see her one day and steal her away from her millionaire boyfriend captain of the Maple Leafs.
I met her once in Summerside PEI at a town hall thing where her bf was being honoured for something. I sat beside her for a lobster dinner. I talked with her for a while about Toronto and mutual friends. She is an absolute delight! And just as hot in person as she is on the screen.
Dan Duquette says you shouldn’t get your hopes up.
The same guy who thinks he has a shot at Fielder? Man… I’m getting excited!
The O’s are one of the few teams with the money to spend and the need for a first base slugger. If their only real competition are the Cubs, Brewers and Mariners, they certainly have a shot. And I could see the Cubs passing on him because he’s a better fit on an AL team. Still, I bet Fielder passes on Baltimore unless the O’s really overpay.
niched, it sounds like you are getting your hopes up
Not really. Even if the O’s offered the best deal, they have a track record of losing that is a turn off to a great player like Fielder. But if there was a year the O’s could sign a top first baseman — with the Yanks, Sox, Phillies, Dodgers, Mets and a lot of other teams not looking for one — this is the year to do it.
He won Boston a Championship, and then Cherrington won the other for Boston. LOL. Theo is funny.
God made two of them?
Lol, Duquette is growing on me. I actually appreciate the honesty and if we’re going to suck every year, we might as well have a GM that isn’t afraid to open his mouth. He’s interesting. Already fixing international scouting, which is priority #1 anyway, so any free agent hot stove jive is a bonus. It’s just such a nice change of pace from MacPhail.
It’s hard to tell where Prince is gonna land. I originally thought the Rangers but that may handcuff them when trying to extend/resign Hamilton. Toronto seems like a good fit but it seems AA isn’t willing to shop this offseason other than with what he believes are pressing needs of the team. Baltimore could just land him. But probably not. Looks like he could stay in Milwaukee after all.
Looks like a legit possibility now if indeed the market for him is rapidly shrinking, which I sincerely hope it is.
It’s hard to tell where Prince is gonna land. I originally thought the Rangers but that may handcuff them when trying to extend/resign Hamilton. Toronto seems like a good fit but it seems AA isn’t willing to shop this offseason other than with what he believes are pressing needs of the team. Baltimore could just land him. But probably not. Looks like he could stay in Milwaukee after all.
Fielder would hit 40+ bombs annually. Between 81 games at Camden Yards and away games at NY, Boston, Toronto… lots of ballparks known for offense. He would absolutely rake.
meaninglessly
meaninglessly
Fielder would hit 40+ bombs annually. Between 81 games at Camden Yards and away games at NY, Boston, Toronto… lots of ballparks known for offense. He would absolutely rake.
Perhaps you are old enough to remember the O’s big investment in another slugging first basemen who came over from the NL, that being Glenn Davis of the Houston Astros. He was a total flop. He had averaged about 30 HR and 95 rbi a year for the Astros. In Baltmore he averaged about 10 HR and 50 rbi a year for the few years he was there. If you stayed after a game, you could see him walk to centerfield and sit down for an hour or two in the near empty stadium staring at the scoreboard. Supposedly, he was crying legitimate tears of despair and didn’t want to do so in front of his teammates.
Moreover, Fielder is Mo Vaughn redux weight and fitness wise. No thank you.
BTW, is it true that Fielder is the world’s fattest vegetarian? Perhaps he is a donutatarian.
Of course if Prince wants to swing his regal sceptre for HRs in bandboxish Camden Yards on a 2 or 3 year contract, I’ll gladly buy a half interest in season tickets.
Much as Peter Angelos deserves to take a financial bath–he’s such a great humanitarian–I’d hate to see the O’s waste money on a contract longer than that.
I hear you, but I believe Davis suffered some sort of injury even before his Orioles career began. He was also older than Fielder when each hit free agency.
He got hurt coming off the plane or something like that
So because Orioles made one bad move in the past, they should never make another big move?
I shall remind you of another big move they once made… Frank Robinson. It ended up winning them the world series.
prince fielder is just the 3 top starting pitchers they need to get back in the hunt
I’d rather bring back a very aged Frank Robinson on a 1 or 2 year contract than Fielder for 6 or 7, the last 2-4 years of Fielder’s contract likely being a vast waste. (Or is that a vast waist?)
The O’s organization needs class, and Frank would bring it!
OH wait….I forgot….Angelos has alienated Frank, Brooks, Earl, and Cal….so their participation in Orioles-related activities is limited.
Oh dear….now that I think about it….Angelos, being KING Peter the Great, wouldn’t want a Prince in the house anyway. NO other royalty of any kind allowed !! Angleos is the star! It has gotta be that way, you see. (Oh, you don’t….well King Peter says OFF WITH YOUR HEAD !)
Of course, the ’66 Orioles had Dave McNally, Steve Barber, Wally Bunker returning from the ’65 team. And they also had a kid named Jim Palmer.
If the current O’s had that kind of pitching staff, signing Fielder would make all the sense in the world.
But they don’t.
So it doesn’t.
albert bell
Mo Vaughn is actually a good comp, as is Prince’s dad, Cecil.
Both of those guys were essentially done by age 33. Which is a good reason for teams to limit their offers to Prince to five or six years.
I honestly doubt anyone will offer more than six.
Horrible comparison, Prince’s career (6+ seasons. 3527 AB) slash line is 282/390/540 with 230 home runs. Glenn Davis? His cost controlled years in Houston (3032 AB) produced a 262/379/482 line with 166 Home Runs. Prince will sign as a free agent as a 27 year old, Davis was 30.
The knock on Prince seems to be his weight slowing him in his 30’s. I truly believe that the type of player that chooses to play nearly every inning (he has missed a grand total of 13 games in 6 seasons) will lose weight if his career rides on it. Howard lost the weight to get 25 mil/year, Prince will also if a team asks/demands that he do so. It was just never an issue with the Brewers.
He wasnt a free agent, the Orioles traded for him. Pete Schilling, and a couple other guys who had very solid careers
Rafael Palmeiro says hello (for better or for worse). Besides, Glenn Davis wasn’t a free agent. The O’s traded for him, and it was a horrible trade for them in retrospect. Still, it doesn’t mean the O’s will never make big trades again.
So should I read between the lines and come to the conclusion that Prince was never comfortable in Milwaukee? If he’s not about chasing top dollar, why not remain a Brewer?
Kind of my thoughts as well. If its more about comfort, why not stay where your at. He gets along well with Braun & all them from what I can tell. Its not like they low balled you either. Take the money, stay where your at. Make the fans of Milwaukee happy.
Come on Anthopolous, take a risk and sign Fielder! The man would complete one of the most fierce 3-4 combos in Jays history!
That Jays lineup would be sick, especially if they resign KJ
Escobar, Rasmus, Fielder, Bautista, Lawrie, Lind, Johnson, Arencibia, Snider/Thames
That’s a contender. If the Jays could get a starter to slot in behind Romero (Garza, maybe?) and a closer that isn’t Frank Francisco or Jon Rauch, they’re in business.
Fielder before Bautista? Really?
particularly doesn’t make sense because he put it so that it went R, L, L, R,R, L, L, R.
If they got prince, I would rather that they went after somebody with less pop and a better OBP to play 2B…(e.g., Izturis or Callaspo).
So the mariners might have a shot….give him a Lazy Boy in the dugout, Jack Z!
Really quiet from the world of Z makes me think something is about to drop…
“comfort is important to the slugger and he’s not necessarily going to chase the most money”
Fielder to Detroit, home of La-Z-Boy Incorporated, as primary DH. Book it. Where else can Fielder play for a contender AND experience ultimate comfort?
(No, don’t really book it. If that actually happens that way, I quite baseball web sites forever)
Anaheim California might be full of Immigrants but move up the 5 towards the beach and you’ll find peace/comfort AS AN ANAHEIM ANGEL! SIGN FIELDER, JERRY!!
Hope you like Wells!
I might get eaten alive but I’m gonna say it, the Nats dropped out of the running for Fielder, with all the other teams dropping out on him, why don’t they just offer him a contract? Worse thing that could happen would be he accepts it & they get 1 of the best 1st basemen for basically market value
presumably it means that there is a rough asking price which they were not willing to approach.
im sure there are some suprise contenders for Fielder who just have not made themselves known.I wouldnt count Boston out of the running for him just yet could you imagine him in the DH in that lineup it would be devestating.It would help cure whatever loss there was last year.
Makes zero sense, even in Red Sox world
I think Fielder will go to Seattle. As a player you have to look at the future of a ball club. Seattle looks pretty good. I think Smoak will hit 35 HR this year. Next year we loose Ichiro and Figgins and we sign a big right hander to make our lineup pretty scary.
We all know how good our young pitchers could be…
What draft picks do Seattle have next year? number 3?
I think if Fielder goes to Miami, Seattle will pick up Gaby Sanchez via trade.
I also think Seattle should have a bit of fun this year and sign Manny Ramirez. It will sell a few tickets if anything…
Carlos Perguero will catch on this year and provide pop. Also i think Kendrys Morales will be leaving the Angels.
Seattle is far fom having a good lineup, signing Manny would only antagonize whatever media is there.Zach also said he would consider trading Smoak if they had got Fielder, and besides 35 homeruns is a little too high of a total more like 25-30 especially out of Saefco
ARE YOU GOING TO GIVE HIM 3 MILL THIS YEAR AND 30 MILL NEXT YEAR?!? UHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH HELLO!?!? YOU SPENT 25 MILL ON SCRUBS! WHY NOT PRINCE FIELDER?!? DO YOU THINK YOU ARE SIGNING A WORLD SERIES TEAM HERE? NO! YOU HAVE NO BUSINESS BEING THE DODGER GM I HOPE YOU DIE! RAAAAAAAAAGE QUIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIITTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT!!!!!!!!!!!
I don’t think we’ve been watching the same Orioles over the past several winters.
To me, it seems like they act like they’re a hundred years from competing, and they’re just trying to patch together a team of has-been’s and never-will-be’s that they’re hoping won’t be an embarrassment.
Actually, the Angels are the one team that Fielder makes a lot of sense for.
They already have a solid pitching staff and they’re going to be dumping a lot of dead weight over the next few years – Hunter ($18.5MM) and Abreu ($9MM) are gone after 2012, and Wells will finally be gone after 2014.
Of course, the $63MM (vomit) they still owe Wells might be the exact reason they won’t be able to afford Fielder.
(facepalm) I hate Vernon Wells
Then the Os can trade joe blow relievers for morales, and hope it works out something like hardy! haha one can dream.
Haha, AA strikes again!!
At least the Angels didn’t give up anyone good for Wells. I mean, c’mon – It’s not like that Napoli kid will ever amount to much.
Is it really worth it? The yankees have more pressing needs than a big bat. Plus, they’re going to need that DH spot for Jeter and Arod.
Pujols, Wilson, Darvish, Beltran and Rollins need a home too.. why stop at one player when you can just buy the whole league…
AL East’s pitching is actually weak right now. Price’s 2011 ERA resembled his 2010 FIP, Lester had an average year, and the Orioles have no pitching. Yankees have the only legit stud in Sabathia, and Jays have a ton of potential in their rotation, but they never get to the next step (except Romero).
It’s hard with a team that bad, specially in the division they’re in.
to yankees fans its a yankees world we’re just living in it
I enjoyed it when the fanbase thought they would contend last year.