Yesterday we heard that Scott Boras is "gunning for" an average annual salary of $25.5MM for free agent Prince Fielder, which would be just above the $25.4MM annual payout Albert Pujols received from the Angels. Fielder also wants a ten-year deal, though a number of clubs are interested in a six-year pact. We'll keep track of any news about the slugger right here today, with the latest up top…
- The Orioles do indeed have interest in Fielder according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (on Twitter), just not at his current asking price.
Scott Boras needs the gun turned around on him if he thinks Fielders’ gonna top Pujols’ contract.
I think the only way Fielder gets 25.5MM a year is if Boras actually uses a gun to hold up some owner.
I think he can get $25.5MM a year, but he’s smoking something if he thinks it’ll be for 10 years. My guess is he can top out at 7 years for that kind of asking price. (7/178.5)
If he wants 8/9/10 years, the $ per year will have to be less. Still, I pity the team that gives a 5-11/~300lb 27 year old a 10 year contract.
I agree. If Fielder wasn’t so fat, he could probably match Pujols’ contract. But when you’re only 27 and have that much weight on your frame, it’s only going to get worse the older he gets … unless he chances his eating habbits for good. Doubtful!
Fielder isn’t going to get a better deal than Pujols. Pujols is the better all around player and is in physically better shape. Only thing fielder has going for him in comparison is age
And pujols is declining, fielder had a much better yr last yr.
One down year isn’t declining. I wouldn’t say declining until there’s a second down year
actually Pujols has been declining the last couple of years, but he is still better than Fielder and his body weight is a concern on whether he can hold up, that is why it would serve prince better to be in the AL where he can dh. Fielder won’t come close to what Albert got even though LA majorly overpaid for him
“but he is still better than Fielder” Not according to any numbers.
When Pujols was healthy this year, he was better than Fielder.
Its been 3
plus pujols broke his arm and fielder played more games so he had a much higher chance to put up better numbers
I’m pretty sure feilder put up better than before pujols sat out 2 weeks.
Its funny how Pujols on supossidly a *down year* had very similar stats to Prince on a contract year.
.080 ops isnt that close neither is a 35 pont woba or wrc though it is closer. Even if were the same ones trending down the other up.
It’s a phenomenon how someone so ridiculously fat can manage to be so consistently good while also staying healthy each and every year. How many players out there have played in 157, 158, 159, 162, 161, and 162 games in each of their last 6 seasons? Not very many..
But can you see the headlines in 3 years? The amount of games he played at a young age will surely be used as an excuse as to why he breaks down when he hits 30.
Cecil Fielder
159
162
155
154 (1993 at 27..princes age)
109 (strike)
136 (strike)
107
53
98
You have to wonder. How much of this is serious and how much of this is Boras playing a game.
Start wearing purple? Sac Kings fan?
Wrong coast.
It’s the name of my favorite song.
I didn’t really think it was possible that anyone else could actually like that team. haha
Your sanity and wits will all vanish.
Exactly! Boris trades information to journalists in return for them starting rumors about teams being in the hunt. It’s just Boras playing his game.
“The O’s have interest in Fielder, just not his current price.” Shouldn’t this be true for all 30 teams?
Actually, some teams have no interest in him at all.
So if his current price was the league minimum not every team would be interested? It was a joke. I’m pretty much saying, if you’re not interested in his price, then you’re not interested at all.
The Orioles do indeed have interest in Fielder according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (on Twitter), just not at his current asking price.
I don’t want this guy in Baltimore! The fanning of this Prince Fielder to Baltimore Rumor Flame really needs to burn out!
Prince Fielder has a lot of Guts to ask for a 10 year deal, in more ways than one mind you!
PS I would have offered Jose Reyes a 6 yr / 110 million dollar deal before I would have ever offered Fielder 2 bucks for cup of coffee and a donut at is favorite Donut Shop!
That’s nice that you want that for Fielder Boras….. buuut you’re not gonna get it.
Chestnuts roasting on a hot stove fire,
Jack Cust nipping on your nose,
Yuletide rumors being sung by the liars,
Old baseball stars dressed up like Orioles.
Everybody knows a few pitchers who know how to throw,
Would help make the season bright.
Tiny tots with their eyes all aglow,
Will find it hard to sleep tonight.
They know Prince Fielder’s on his way;
He’s loaded lots of toys and goodies on his sleigh.
And every mother’s child is gonna smile,
To see Prince Fielder’s baseballs fly.
And so I’m offering this simple prayer,
To take the Orioles wins from 1 to 92.
Although it’s been said many times, many ways,
A very Merry Christmas to you.
I see what you did there
All it takes is for one team to be gullible to open up the checkbook and make Boras look like a genius.
It wouldn’t make him look like a genius, it would confirm it. I’m not a fan of Boras by any means, but the guy gets the job done and that’s why so many employ him.
not a word here about the Cardinals scooping up Carlos Beltran for two years. Now lets nail Oswald for one year and we can start printing playoff tickets.
First if all, you are delusional. Cardinals barely made the playoffs last year with Albert, and now you are talking about printing playoff tickets without him? Second, who the hell is Oswald? The character from the Drew Carey show?
methinks he meant roy oswalt
The same guy from balls of fury. Hahaha
Just like the Red Sox were printing playoff tickets in 2011?? Weren’t the Phillies a lock for the WS around this time last year??
I think Boras has the right idea here go for the higher average salary! The Angels signed a horrible deal for a guy 9 years after his prime (if his age is correct). With the Yankees starting to realize that even they can’t sign a bunch of stupid deals like that anymore only a few select stupid teams were going to go full retard for Pujols. The Marlins were the other more money than brains team this year giving a walking injury a long term big money deal.
by the time its all said and done i believe fielder will be in baltimore. i feel like his list of suitors is getting smaller and smaller. the rangers are going to spend 100 mil if they sign darvish, the cubs and rays are interested in the padres young first basemen, and the brewers wont be able to afford him. i think it will come down to the orioles and mariners and the orioles are going to pull it off. DD is doing a good job so far signing cheap guys that arent a huge risk and he is putting together a pretty good front office. he is turning things around and prince will be a part of that
I doubt it. The O’s are looking to get him cheap, and the M’s are willing to pay some dough and give him some years. But NOBODY is gonna give him 10 years @ @25m!
Maybe, but I also think the O’s have a larger wallet than the M’s, if they are willing to spend. Not sure I want the O’s to get him, because he will certainly have a no-trade clause, but for the right price he would be a welcome addition.
M’s are desperate. They will overspend to get him, despite our GM’s negotiating words. Don’t underestimate Jack – he’s on a mission.
You should be drinking “Egg Nog” at this time of the year! Not the Dan Duquette Version of Orange Kool-Aid first brought to you by Andy MacPhail!
DD is doing a good job so far signing cheap guys that arent a huge risk and he is putting together a pretty good front office.
1.) Cheap Guys is a No-No!
2.) DD has put more fannies in seats in the “Front Office” than Oriole HQ receiving phone calls inquiring about season tickets. In fact, I am willing to bet more people haven’t renewed their tickets for 2012 because of what Duquette has done so far!
seems like a blanket statement. If the guy is cheap, then he must not be worth it!
Teams aren’t going to want to wait around much longer on Fielder. I am surprised somebody hasn’t given up and just signed Pena to a short deal.
Not going to get my hopes up, but if you look at the moves the Os didn’t make(not in on cuddyer, letting Scott walk, and only signing cheap low risk high reward types) they are either A. Reverting back to the stingy BS times or B. saving their wad for Fielder. All the others teams(minus the Mariners) are making moves as if they won’t be in on Fielder.
all the moves you are referring to were smart ones. 1)They should never have been in on cuddyer, and they weren’t. 2)Scott was going to make 6 million, and they could still resign him, it would just be for cheaper. He is hardly someone who having a good year is going to bring them into contention. 3) All those stingy BS moves were smart. All low risk, and a few could turn out to be quite smart (Antonelli, Wada). Worse case none of them pan out and that is like 8 million down the drain. But they have a much better chance of contributing than the 8 million they spent on Vlad.
Oh I agree, but usually this is the time of the year we are stuck pretending Sammy Sosa/Garret Atkins/Derrek lee/Vlad are the answers we need. So far I like the moves, but I just wanted to point out that it seemed like they were leaving room for Prince. Sorry if I wasn’t clear on liking these moves made so far.
.312, 42, 117 Pujols
.286, 38, 115 Fielder
Season averages over Pujols’ “decline” seasons. I’d still take Albert (my being an Angels fan notwithstanding).
Good for you, you now have the 5th best first baseman
…. ever? I think he might be better than 5th best ever even.
No in baseball, votto, agon, fielder, miggy are all better at this point.
Offensively.. But when you factor both sides of the game, he’s higher ranked…
If fielder wants 1b money he needs to be judged on both aspects.
I think the difference in offense makes up for that in terms of miggy, votto and agon dont really have a problem in that regard.
I’d take Pujols over all of them. Maybe not in 4 years, but right now he is still easily the best, particularly with the chance to rest at DH occasionally.
What are you basing this off?
Yea right, Morosi. They’re interested in him if the deal is 4 years @$18m. Now go get a real story instead of spreading rumors for your buddy Boras!
Yeah, who wants to hear about rumors? I don’t come here for that kind of BS.
Legit rumors that are based on leaked info are fine. Fabricated ones suck.
If Boras can pull off a 10yr/$25.5MM per deal for Fielder he’s a magician not an agent. I hope he remembers to include “milestone” incentives in the contract for Fielder.
I just pictured Boras reading your comment and being like “Argh, I forgot to include the incentives!”
He might have declined but expect his numbers to go up in the DH
Adam Dunn…
completely different players… Adam Dunn had a minimal BA, so when his contact rate went down even a little, or he gets a bad BABIP, his value plummets. Prince hits between .275 and .300 ever year, AND has an awesome walk rate. It really isn’t a comparison Prince is a much better hitter.
Agon and pujols both have missed more time due to injuries than fielder but ya less all focus on the weight.
A Merry Christmas for me would be owners and GMs choosing not to deal with Borass this season.
I’d be okay with the Orioles signing him to a 6 year/140 million dollar contract. No more ten that though.
I think there will be “better” teams that match that or beat it. He’d have to really want to play for Baltimore.
The Orioles have money to burn and have given their fans no big signings since Tejada a decade ago. Its time to give Baltimore hope. Maybe a legit middle of the order bat could help the development of Wieters and Jones. If BRob comes back, Reimold does what he can do, Markakis improves a tick, and Hardy is anywhere near last year,thats a team that can hit with anybody. Still cant pitch since all the prospects havent produced yet, but there is hope that a rotation of Guthrie, Matusz (hopefully they let him go back to his old mechanics), Arrieta, Tillman, etc can be borderline competitive.
The pen and farm still suck, but the dead (not dying, that day has come and gone) fanbase in Baltimore needs a Prince signing 100 times more than any other team in the game (save the Pirates, since theyre the only team that loses as much as the Os)
How many ways can an Orioles fan say no? I’ll give you 200 million ways if they waste their money on Fielder. The Orioles might be dead in the water right now, but signing Fielder won’t change that. We need to dump that kind of money into 2-3 reliable starting pitchers. I’d much rather throw $15 million at Roy Oswalt and $10 million at Paul Maholm instead of $25 million at Fielder.
With Pujols and Wilson going to the Angels, and Darvish going to an already strong Rangers team, Prince Fielder is basically a necessity for the Mariners if they plan to contend for the forseeable future. With the A’s and Astros not likely going anywhere for the next couple seasons, the Mariners should take the chance. They absolutely need a power bat now, and there won’t be one as good available next season. With Fielder hitting cleanup, Smoak would no doubt start to see better pitches to hit and they could basically gain two middle-of-the-order hitters with this signing. They have other good young offensive pieces in Dustin Ackley, Alex Liddi and Travyon Robinson that could marginally improve the offense as well. They can only hope that Ichiro and Guttierez rebound next season.
Scott Boras is an idiot. And if Prince goes to some sub-par team that hasn’t been close to .500 in awhile obviously doesn’t care about winning just money.
Scott Boras isn’t a baseball player
You can’t win without good players. Either way, money >>>> winning.
Since Fielder isn’t likely to get a 9- or 10-year deal, he’d actually be smarter signing up for a 4-5 year deal so he could hit the market again before the likely decline begins. Think of it this way, first he gets a 5-year/$110-120mil deal then he hits the market again at 32 and signs a 4- to 6-year deal for another nine figure payday based on what the market is paying then– that could easily be $120-150 mil.
Then he’d get a 3 year, 45 million dollar contract.
Well duh the orioles are interested but not at current asking price. Everyone is interested at SOME price. If he doesn’t get what he wants, I say he returns to Milwaukee on 1 yr deal and try again next year.wishful thinking, I know
I agree on going back to Milwaukee for 1 yr. On paper, the Brewers would look to have a better lineup w/ A-ram at 3rd.
His youth is what makes him such an attractive FA. He’ll be one year older next offseason, so he won’t get a better contract.
He’s headed to the Dodgers folks.
Eventually the price will come down to a point where Ned puts in a call to Bud and asks for approval to offer 8/180. Bud will feel sorry for the Lakers losing out on Chris Paul and approve the deal, thus increasing the value of the franchise and making the team more attractive to Magic Johnson, who will win the auction with a $1.2 billion bid.
Magic will then do this:
Fire Don Mattingly and Ned Colletti.
Hire Billy Beane, who will then hire Tim Wallach to manage the big club.
Billy will trade prospects for David Wright, cut Juan Uribe, and trade for Matt Thornton.
Dodgers will make the playoffs, subsequently beating the Phillies and the surprising Wild Card Washington Nationals to reach the World Series where they’ll need up with that other team a hop, skip, and a jump down the 405 freeway.
WS MVP Clayton Kershaw will then lead the Dodgers to their first World Series since 1988.
Merry Christmas all.