Nationals GM Mike Rizzo says his position on Prince Fielder has not changed since the Winter Meetings, according to Amanda Comak of the Washington Times. Washington is committed to Adam LaRoche and first base is “settled,” the GM said. Rizzo acknowledged Fielder’s value, saying he’ll help any club he’s with, but pointed out that the Nationals are often bandied about as a possible suitor for unsigned Scott Boras clients. Here are the details on Fielder:
- The Nationals appear to be “deep in the mix” for Fielder and as many as eight other teams are showing some level of interest, according to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com.
- Some Marlins executives have said they aren’t going to pursue Fielder, but it appears some front office members are intrigued, according to Heyman.
- The Cubs and Blue Jays don’t appear to be willing to offer more than five years, according to Heyman.
- ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick previews what lies ahead for Boras’ many remaining unsigned clients, including the ‘PF Flyer.’ Crasnick says we can’t count out the Cubs, who are lingering on the fringe of the Fielder sweepstakes.
- One GM called the Mariners a "darkhorse" for Fielder and suggested GM Jack Zduriencik may feel pressure to respond to splashy moves by the Rangers and Angels.
I can’t wait until he signs so the market can continue flowing again!
I love it. Boras and his hard line currently has all his clients unsigned by anyone. I’m waiting for him to crumble, which is long overdue and all the teams say, sorry Scott, we like the players, just not the price you see them rated at. lol. Don’t call us Scott, we’ll call you… if we need someone cheap near spring training. The players will be on the outside looking in and it will be funny if they switch agents, just to find a home in 2012.
not gunna happen
His hard line has worked out just fine for Boras up until now in his career as an agent. Waiting teams out has always been his M.O.
Fielder will not sign until Darvish signs/does not sign. Then, JENGA.
8 teams? Nationals, Orioles, Mariners, Cubs, Blue Jays, Marlins, Dodgers and Rangers?
I think it’s only a matter of time before the Nats offer a 7 or 8-year deal…
The sooner the better.
ok Mike either s–t or get off the pot. Pull the trigger.
“Nationals plus eight teams showing some level of interest” could be as little as this
Boras: “Want to sign Prince Fielder?”
Anthopolous: “Sure, how does 4 years $20M per sound”
Boras: “That sounds like some level of interest”
Right now I think he’s trying to get Nationals to bid against themselves.
Along as they keep mentioning the Jays, history shows that they (implying AA) are out of the running.
Bingo! That’s exactly what Boras is trying to do.
I hope the dodgers sign him.
don’t think so bro….rizzo is allowing boras to use them as leverage….rizzo is not signing him and remember that rosenthal and heyman had upton in a nats uniform at the trade deadline last year…remember how “imminant” that trade was??? heyman and rosenthal are bozo’s and everyone picks up on the dribble they spout off…they are wrong more often than the weathermen…
Thank you! Could not have said it better!
Enough is enough, how much does Boras pay these asinine reporters? Spring training is officially two months away…the beads of desperation sweat are developing.
Pitchers and catchers in less than 45 days!
Sounds like Boras is using the Nationals to drive up the price because the market is thinning out for Fielder. I bet he only gets 6 years max.
Good.
“If Scott Boras falls in his office and no one is around to hear it, does he make a sound?”
No One Cares Scott! No One Cares!
Maybe the “Bog Orca” will have to move in with you and share expenses, I am sure the budget is running a bit thin these days! =P
Am I dumb for not knowing what a “bog orca” is
no, but we all def lost some IQ for reading Lefty’s post
A “Bog Orca” is “Big Orca” mispelled.
The other problem is I tried to fix it when I saw it. Sadly, though I can’t because the correction needs to be approved by the moderator. So, I must suffer until that happens!
why is it a ‘big’ orca, are there small orcas?
A whale from a wetland.
Ever been to Sea World?
Obviously you forgot to consult your D&D handbook.
No such thing has pressure in seattle, forget about it.
What?
using the words FIELDER and THINNING in the same sentence just seems plain wrong! Statistic of the day though is that Albert Pujols will actually make $4 million less in 2012 than he made in 2011; he will make $16 million in 2013 (that is what he made with the Birds this past season); I know all about the back end of the Angels deal, but its just kind of ironic that he is taking a haircut in his first year with the Halos. As to Prince I wonder if the Brewers might dive back in knowing now that Braun is out for 50 games.
Why is it ‘ironic’
Angels have the Wells contract and backloaded the contract so that their new TV deal can help pay for it.
Nothing ironic about it. I seriously doubt Pujols cares whether he makes an extra 4 million this year or in a few years as long as its all garanteed.
Yeah, seems pretty black and white to me. Probably an Angels fan reaching for a positive out of that horrid deal. The wealthiest franchise in baseball tried the same contract and for the first time in history are going to complete a free agent period utterly quiet. A Roid will continue to decline and take in his 27.5M until 2017! Haha That poor rotation does not have a prayer and they did not even hint at signing a single arm this winter. Angels had better win it all in the next two years. Pujols was born Jan 16, 1980…making him well over the wrong side of thirty and rapidly approaching the age nearly every star falls… Look up the stats of any legendary slugger from the past 20 years and see what age they fell off the map, not good Dipoto, not good.
Too much drama. It’s not a screen play for an Oscar. It’s business, let move on. If prince doesn’t sign by monday I am done following this stupid reality tv show.
It’s obvious that the market for Fielder is thinning otherwise he would of signed a few weeks ago. Boras is just saying other teams are in the mix to spark interest.
he might be waiting to see what happens with darvish so he can involve the rangers.
What would be his point in trying to involve the Rangers when they have said repeatedly that they are not interested in Fielder.
they said they weren’t interested in beltre either…..look where he ended up
Well what I’m saying is why would he be holding out specifically for the rangers
because the rangers bid 51 million for darvish. the angels brought in pujols and wilson
they need to improve, so if they dont sign darvish, getting texas involved in the bidding is perfectly logical.
What would they do with him? Beltre is locked at 3B and they have both Napoli and Young to stick at either DH or 1B. Napoli is about to sign a massive extension which would me putting a lot of money on the bench at times. Making Napoli catch so they can stick Fielder out there seems silly.
I agree. The Blue Jays are on record as saying they would have signed Fielder for 25M plus, but they will only give him five years guaranteed, nothing more. Unfortunately, Boras is determined to handicap a team for more years and secure the financial security for his own firm. He doesn’t care about the player, he is looking at the percentage that goes into his own pocket ahead of anything else.
When AA says the money was no problem, but he didn’t like the years, or the years were right, but the money was too extensive, you can believe that as fact, since he is one of the top talent evaluators in the game today. He didn’t cave into overpaying for Lato’s, Garza, or Gonzalez and common sense says he won’t overpay for Fielder. If all the GM’s used the same common sense in their duties of GM, Boras wouldn’t enter the equation. Unfortunately, there is a sucker born every minute that vastly overpays for players to satisfy the selfishness of the fans.
please no one read this ^^^^^
its complete fluff.
Jays are not on record saying they would give fielder 25 plus.. AA isn’t even on record saying he knows who prince fielder is
Boras is doing nothing wrong, he’s an agent trying to get his clients the most money, aka HIS JOB.
Jays were second in the Latos sweepstakes, Padres choose the reds package, can’t really blame them.
Alex anthopoulos is not a genius for not overpaying for gio gonzalez or prince fielder, he is just the GM of a team in a tough division that bringing in gio or prince isn’t going to guarantee a playoff birth, let alone a world series.
and your ending is the best part ‘a suck born every minute’ .. you mean like a fan who would rather have money in the pockets of an owner than a player? because thats where it stays if its not spent.
Unless I missed the Jays slash ticket prices memo. Last I checked my season seats went up this year.
Your posts are always so long and exaggerated. Most of it isn’t even factual , just your opinion that you play off as truth.
Why would Fielder want to sign with the Mariners? That ballpark is a hitter’s graveyard. He’d be smarter to take fewer years with the Cubs, Rangers or Blue Jays and keep his numbers than to take a long term deal with Seattle and see his stats plummet
How does that make sense?
If he signs with the mariners it will be a huge deal, so if his numbers plummet he wont really care all that much since this is going to be his last big contract (especially if its a 8+ years contract)
You are aware that the right field fence in Chicago is thirty feet further back then the right field fence in Seattle right?
How dare you inject facts into his conjecture.
He’s a left-handed power-hitter so he’d work at Safeco and the M’s would give him a lot of money. Think before you talk. Oh wait, you did…
He wants to go to a contender, Mariners are years and years away from that. While Ackley and Pineda prove that the future is bright, they are not enough to say the next three years are defiantly going to be interesting. Look at the Angels, Red Sox, Phillies, and Yankees rosters and tell me that if you insert Prince into the Mariners that they are going to win a seven game series.
that kind of logic didn’t win the rangers the series, they have arguably the best lineup in the mlb
I said roster. The Rangers did not have the best roster. Their rotation was slightly better than average and that lost them The Series. They then lost CJ and are hoping Feliz converts to the rotation just as easily. Quite the gamble if you ask me. They also have some SERIOUSLY injury prone players who are absolute studs when they are healthy which is about never at the same time.
All of those teams lost in the first round or missed the playoffs entirely last season.
The Cards had Pujols, the Angels do now…the Cards beat the Phillies…good luck knocking out the Red Sox and the Yanks twice. The Phillies, Yankees, and Red Sox have won most of the recent championships. You must have an anchor though or hope you have a Lincecum to ride and it works.
It’s all about the money and you and everyone else knows that. Why would he could to the Orioles and Cubs either?
The Mariners also have Felix (thanks for forgetting that) and truckloads of good young pitching waiting to be called up. What the Mariners need are hitters and Prince Fielder is a once in a lifetime type free agent that the team needs to go after. People need to stop fabricating reasons why they think Fielder won’t come to Seattle because the M’s are still very much in this.
once in a lifetime?? wasnt pujols just signed as a free agent? that is once in a lifetime. fielder is not a once in a lifetime free agent. hes good but not good enough to have the phrase “once in a lifetime” thrown on him. and the young pitchers in seattle are still a few years away from being able to pitch a full productive season. not to mention prospects are far from a lock to pan out into even an above average player. more often than not, pitching prospects dont turn into ‘felix’es, ‘cain’s, and ‘hamels’es. you cant win in the playoffs or even your division for that matter with a lineup that stars fielder, ackley, and a bunch of nobodys. not good enough and not gona win. it sucks to admit but its the truth.
You gotta love Mike Rizzo telling it like it is. Now I’ll take any Boras Client-Nationals rumor with a grain of salt. Rizzo is certainly tired of hearing about it.
Thankfully, I am know confident that Rizzo is not in Boras’s bag. For all that hype and no statement from Rizzo, I was starting to get concerned. But yeah, Boras just lost a TON of leverage.
Anyone else getting sick of this PF shyte?
Everyone is.
Is there anyone outside of a few fans who falls for that “mystery team” rubbish Boras always brings in when his top clients fail to bring any interest?
Even better.. Is there even anyone in the game who even CARES if there was a mystery team involved with negotiating with a client like this?
Boras is as easy to read as a child’s book.
boras is just mad that the p#### licker got pujols his 10yr 250mil….thats all……..good for them at least boras isn’t gonna get the richest F.A contract of the year
seriously?
so if you’re the nats and your owner just approved a 7/140 for fielder.. and you call Boras and he said no sorry, a team in the AL has a 7/155 out for him, if you match it we can talk..
you’re going to say what?
it’s not as easy as you think. its like a poker game, if you think he’s bluffing, you can call him n it, and leave the offer as is, but if you guess wrong and you fail to improve you team, that onus is on you.
you’re missing one big aspect, that Fielder is wanted commodity, Boras holds all the power.
Might be why some don’t waste time fooling around with boras clients much at all, or give them take it or leave it offers, much like Epstein did with holliday 2 off seasons ago.
You mean there’s no such team as the Dallas Mystery Team Of San Antonio?
MLBTR Prince Fielder Addition: Nationals in it. Nationals not in it. Nationals in it. Nationals not in it. Nationals in it. Nationals not in it. Nationals in it. Nationals not in it. Nationals in it. Nationals not in it. Nationals in it. Nationals not in it. Nationals in it. Nationals not in it.
So can Frank McCourt sign Fielder to a massive deal with the league minimum as the first years salary so he can afford it, then years 2-8 just make up the first year? A team with Kershaw, Kemp, Fielder and Ethier would surely bring in more money than a team without Fielder… Right? Backload that sumbich’n contract and reap the rewards come auction time?
Nationals have two 1B options at the moment, LaRoche and Morse…both are a lock for 25 HRs and .280 with better defense than Fielder. Signing Fielder would mean that should Rendon pan out then Ryan Zimmerman becomes an issue…basically trading the face of the franchise as the only resolution. I think 7/140 would be the deal that works, but even a counter of 7/155 comes then Rizzo would say “Sounds good, best of luck with all those free agents”
PF: Sign with the Jays, for 5/100, or go fluffle up a gum tree.
Just how does one fluffle?
How do you explain the Matt Kemp extension?
And I am sure that the MLB would love to have an African American “Super Star” in LA, one of Bud’s Brewers playing for good ole NY Joe in one of the biggest markets in the world… I think they would ok it.
Getting Nap out from the crotch position clearly sparked a bat that many had no idea existed. Having him call signals more is a bad idea. Realisitically, how much does adding Fielder help the team overall? Beltre, Hamilton, Kinsler, and now Cruz are all probable to miss time but that does not mean you bank on it and sign a another should be injury prone guy to a huge contract. IMO, if they do or don’t they are doomed to the same fate as that rotation is going to hurt. Landing Darvish should and is the top priority, but even with him, barring a miracle conversion for Feliz, their is a lot of question marks and a launching pad ballpark. Snag Darvish, Feliz converts easily, Holland takes the next step, and Harrison replicates his out-of-nowhere mediocre talent and all is well, but they is easily a 50/50 chance a lot of that does not happen. Why they were reluctant to sign CJ blows my mind, he would have been a season chager…adding Fielder helps but not nearly as much.
He hit 25 HRs three years in a row prior to last year. He also hit 32 not too long ago. The average might be more in the. 265 range, but his power is legit, as is his defense. He is an absolute lock for. 260/25HRs, so long as he stays healthy. Fielder is a lock for. 280/35HRs with fair defense. Fielder would be going to a pitchers park and face some serious pitching. staffs, so his stats will like not incrase from the move and could take a small hit. Of course Fielder is an absolute upgrade, but not absurdly massive (no pun intended). There will be midseason trade to deal with what needs to be delt with, locking into another 120M+ contract with an immensley overweight player does not add up. Check out this kid named Tyler Moore, or visualize Ryan Zimm there with Rendon at 3rd if you want to see the future, expect LaRoche there to see the now.
I can buy the arbitration = salary for this coming year but I still think having Fielder on the Dodgers would increase their value, and that it would not deter the 6 groups from bidding more let alone as much as they would have. Agree to disagree
Joe resigned today…
I think Fielder makes a whole lot of sense for LA. They have a lot of holes though and Jerry Sands is only one player. I would trade for Trumbo to put at 3B and sign Fielder and see what happens to ticket sales.
They had to pry Nap out of the “crotch position”? Dang, there’s more going on in the Ranger’s clubhouse than I imagined…Blows the RedSox “party house” away.