Prince Fielder remains available, but as MLB.com's Tom Singer shows, most elite free agents sign considerably earlier on in the offseason. In fact, there's a chance Fielder will sign the latest megadeal in baseball history. Here are the latest rumors on Fielder, as we await concrete news of his next destination…
- The Nationals are “patiently and aggressively” pursuing Fielder, Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post reports. Nationals principal owners Ted and Mark Lerner met with agent Scott Boras at the owners’ meetings this evening, according to Kilgore. Boras touched base with other owners, including Jeffrey Loria of the Marlins.
- MLB.com’s Bill Ladson hears that there’s a 99% chance that the Nationals will not sign Fielder.
- Someone with knowledge of the Rangers’ finances doubts they’d invest in Yu Darvish and Fielder, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (Twitter link). Morosi notes that the Nationals are viewed as the favorites for Fielder.
- Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com suggests Fielder may not sign until the Rangers finish negotiating with Darvish next week (Twitter link). Heyman notes that the Rangers are a “team of interest” when it comes to Fielder.
At this rate, he may wish he had accepted arbitration.
It would be insane if the Rangers signed Fielder and Darvish. I’d kind of like to see that happen.
Me too.
He (his rep) is waiting to see who buys the Dodgers in hopes there’s 25M+ there.
By the time the Dodgers are bought, Spring training has started, and he should be with a team.
Also, what do the Dodgers do with Loney?
As a Dodger fan, who cares? Loney should have been DFA’d
Release him?
What do you do with a first baseman who can’t seem to post an OPS higher than .750? Maybe trade him for a relief pitcher or something…?
It’s a moot point though. The Dodgers aren’t signing Fielder.
As soon as the 10 bidders are accepted by McCourt, he gets to choose who wins. At that point, before all the ink is dry, they can instruct Coletti to make contact with Fielder and all prospective owners will be aware that Fielder’s contract will be on the books. The new owner will get the credit for bringing him in, winning IMMEDIATE favor with the fans. This is all supposed to go down at the end of January, so this could happen with plenty of time before Spring Training.
Re Loney…who cares…BUT, if you DO like him, you can keep him, play him in LF or off the bench. If you DON’T like him, yeah, trade him for relief help or package him with a prospect or 2 for a 3B who with some pop.
So the favorites in signing Fielder are 99% likely not to sign him? In that case some team should offer him the league minimum. Clearly the market isn’t there
So about every team has dropped out on Fielder, I’m still hoping that the Jays will try to get him.
I really think they should.. don’t see it happening though AA seems set
He doesn’t like to tell the media what he’s up to, so know one actually knows. He is definitely in on Fielder, as he is in on every player, but only for the right price and term.
The Jays offer would have to blow him out of the water. I doubt he wants to go to a non contending team.
In fairness, Fielder moves them much closer to contention, especially with the extra playoff spot coming soon. My money’s on Seattle still.
Didn’t a report come out a couple of days ago that Seattle only has like 4 to 5 mil left for this years budget?
If by report you mean tweet then yes… someone tweeted that.
Yeah, 4 or 5 million after they drop 18 on prince. The M’s are by most accounts 15-17 million under last season’s payroll. A backloaded contract that increases after Ichiro and Figgins come off the books would be doable.
There more of a contender than Seattle and Baltimore, with Fielder in the line up, the Jays 1-9 becomes very scary.
Even if Seattle gets Fielder, the Blue Jays and Orioles are still more of a contender! And I’m an M’s fan…
Incorrect.
The trick with AA’s signings is to think the opposite. If we think it’ll happen, most likely it won’t. If we think there’s no possibility – that’s when it’ll happen.
Truthfully, there are other teams that will offer a better deal than the Jays.
AA seems content with Lind who can’t seem to get an .obp over .300 for the longest time.
I wouldn’t be shocked if the Rangers signed both Darvish and Fielder, but Fielder won’t get a Pujols deal from the Rangers. If Fielder willing to go just 5-7 years, the Rangers might be interested.
Fielder won’t get a Pujols deal from anyone.
At this point, I doubt he’ll get more than 6/150.
I’m seeing more of a 7/160 with an opt out after the third season.
This is the longest foreplay session I’ve ever seen in my life.
Absolutely.
Exactly, I don’t even feel like doing it anymore. I’m tired.
He should just do what Mark Tiexiera did and sign a one year deal with someone and try the market again next year.
Mark Teixeira never did this, but Adrian Beltre did.
…Tex never did that.
Tex never did that, he was bounced around from texas,atlanta and the angels i think was the last team(may be wrong about the angels) before he signed a long term deal with the yankees. and him bouncing around was due to being traded.
You’re correct. At the 2007 deadline he was dealt to Atlanta in the deal that brough Neftali Feliz, Evlis Andrus, and Matt Harrison to the Rangers. At the 2008 deadline, the Braves traded him to the Angels, and that offseason he signed with the Yanks.
Prince looks like a good candidate for a (cry in my) pillow contract.
Simple, Borass has an offer from the Nationals, but he wants to see if he can get the Rangers to pay more, or better yet, pit them against one another and drive up the price.
Forever Alone… 🙁
Mariners!
No Nats, no Rangers, no Cubs, no Yanks, no Red Sox…
Leaves basically Seattle and Baltimore. 😉
Why does Rangers need Fielder? Hes not an elite defender at 1B, they might as well have Michael Young there.
Fielders Bat >>>>>> Youngs Bat
Although, they both got a first place vote for the MVP 😉
Because Michael Young will be filling in for one of the many other Rangers that go on the DL yearly. A little 3rd, a little 2nd, a little Right Field, a little Left Field, some 1b he will probably get 500+AB’s just filling in. The only teams that don’t need Fielder are the ones that have better options at 1st and those teams can be counted on 1 hand.
They’d probably want to sign him as a part-time 1B, most-time DH. But his paycheck will be lower.
Didn’t the rangers just file bankruptcy…I hope they do it so they can bankrupt themselves again.
The Texas Rangers in May 2010 filed for bankruptcy protection but in September 2010 signed a 20-year television contract valued at $80 million a year. The Rangers appear to be financially sound.
And are now owned by two oil and gas billionaires..
An earlier report from 2011 said the Rangers were one of several teams that had passed the MLB debt threshold. They had 4 times more debt than revenue. Is any of this television revenue required to be paid on past debts? I realize there was a change in ownership..but did current ownership assume any debts?
Yes, they assumed all of the debt that Hicks had leveraged toward the Rangers. They also went to bankruptcy court and hashed out a plan with the creditors. Simply put, the debt is being handled and has no bearing on this ownership group’s ability to spend money on the ballclub however they deem fit.
Thanks. I wasn’t clear on that, or how the nature of the TV deal played into that on the business side.
Very smart of the Rangers to build now off the cable deal. It seems like quite a few teams are now working on similar deals and might be able to match the Rangers move in the near future.
Wow. $80 Mil/year. That’s an incredible amount of money. Wasn’t the Angels deal even larger though?
Supposedly, but nobody really knows given how close teams and the networks keep their TV numbers to their vests. It’s possibly worth even more than the $80 million a year that it is believed to be though. Maury Brown from Baseball Prospectus/Biz of Baseball says there are escalators in the contract that could push it to the $3 billion number that was initially reported and possibly beyond. If you subscribe to BP you can check out the latest article he wrote on the subject here:
baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=15709…
Supposedly, but nobody knows for sure given the way teams and the networks keep their TV numbers so close to the vest. The Rangers TV deal could be worth even more than the $80 million a year that has been so widely speculated though. Maury Brown from Baseball Prospectus/Biz of Baseball says that it has escalators that could push it to the $3 billion total that was initially reported, and possibly higher. If you subscribe to BP you can find his latest article on the subject from December of 2011 if you use the search function on their site. Apologies if this posts twice, it flagged me for mod approval when I tried to link to the article.
pay attention jackass 🙂
First of all, Ladson didn’t say that. He said the Nats aren’t giving him 10 years at 200M+. Second, Ladson is completely and utterly worthless and barely has any inside info.
so. true.
So basically we’ve learned nothing new. As per every day for the last month.
Looks like Fielder will be playing in my Softball League this year.
Welcome to the Fightin Strawberries Fielder!!!
Careful, he might try to dip your mascot in chocolate and eat him.
You’d change you team name to the Strawberry Fielders Forever.
and i really dont see a problem with moreland. I like that kid, ihave been to a few ranger games this past season and the kid can hit. granted he isnt a 40 home run guy, but to be honest they really dont need that with those other bats in the line up. all of whom could hit 20 HR’s a piece. unless they plan on getting rid of hamilton by trade dead line or let him walk in FA
Hamilton will almost certainly walk in FA. He feels like the past contracts he signed with Texas were ‘unfair’, and has publicly stated that if they deal with him again like they have in the past, he will not be a Ranger.
Unfortunately, his idea of fair and the Rangers front office’s idea seem to be pretty disparate. With his age and injury history, anything more than 3 or 4 years will be a big question mark by the end of it, and it’s almost certain he’s going to want more than that.
Where has Hamilton EVER stated he felt his last contracts were unfair? That’s ridiculous. He DID state that he wont give Texas a discount as does want a fair deal from Texas, however, which is completely fine. He’ll sign back with Texas if they offer him a solid deal. I wouldn’t blame him for leaving Texas if a team like the Yankees decide to way overpay for him though. But again, most of what you said in our post isn’t even true.
You clearly have not been following the Rangers over the years then. Hamilton has repeatedly commented on how disappointed he has been in the Rangers offers. That he is not getting the respect that he feels he deserves. A couple of years ago he was offered a long term contract and he turned it down. It’s pretty obvious that he expects to be paid like someone who doesn’t have consistent injury problems every year. If the Rangers give him more than $16 mil a year for 5 or 6 years they will be making a big mistake.
I will make a prediction- let me get my crystal ball out- Either Yu Darvish or Prince Fielder will sing with TX. That is all…
I’m hoping its darvish, i really want to see him pitch here this year. Every year I try to follow a non-yankees AL team, 2 years ago it was the indians, last year it was the orioles, this year will be the rangers.
That’s a no-brainer, really. If they don’t come to terms with Darvish, they’ll be the only real big contender left for Fielder. I can only hope they sign both…but I doubt that’ll happen.
I don’t know about a no-brainer. TX is afterall denying it up and down, but there is no other clear cut reason for Prince to be on the market this long unless they are waiting on another deal. I hope they sign Darvish, he is unproven and may waste over $100mil of TX’s money, Prince on the other hand is proven and would be scurrrry in Arlington. Go Yu Go
The funny part is, Yu has a very big chance of being an even bigger impact for good with the Rangers than Fielder. You might very well wish to take this back a few years from now 😛
Agreed. They need an ACE, but Prince Fielder has a better chance of being Prince Fielder next year than Yu Darvish has of being an ACE.
I would pay to see Yu Darvish and Prince Fielder sing.
I hear Darvish does a mean version of “Livin’ on a Prayer”.
It would be a bad decision for anybody to sign the fatboy for more then 5 years. Especially an NL team. I say the lowly Mariners sign him and he sets a major league record for intentional walks.
My Mariners are weak & sucky right now but we’re about to have a king & a prince on our team.
Too bad you have no knights to support the king and prince.
we take what we can get up here. Not picky (chone figgins) obviously
You guys should trade felix away for 2 reasons. First off I am tired of him in the AL west and second of all you guys could get a ton of talent for him. The Mariners need hitters badly and this guy could net you 5 good prospects to build for the future
oh your one of those guys huh? So no team besides the the BIG spenders are allowed to have a great player? Trade away the face of the franchise for a few prospects and hope 1-2 pan out? You build a team around a 25 yr old cy young winner not trade him for hopefuls. Regardless of offensive woes. But I don’t mind your point of view.
If you dont trade him then he will be wearing pinestipes and you get nothing in return. There is no hope in competing with the angels and rangers. You deal now and hope to fight another day
There’s always hope. I say keep him for the 3 yrs left on his contract and if he leaves then he leaves. Promise it won’t be to the Yankees or Redsox tho, he likes dominating those teams too much.
This is an absolutely asinine statement. You guys HAVE to trade Felix eventually or you will not get ANYTHING for him, save some draft picks.
The Angels and Rangers rule the West now and along with Boston, Philly and NYY, they rule all of baseball.
2 of baseballs 5 powerhouses reside in your division…. Jack Z needs to come to terms with that and go get a monster return (he could get an even better return than Texas got from Atlanta).
Asinine? It’s somehow wrong for believing in your team? Those 5 teams u mention did not win the world series and 2 of them didn’t even make the playoffs last year. If we declare winners before the season cause they look good on paper then there would be no need to play the games. You don’t HAVE to trade him unless he ask’s for one or his deal is almost up and you are out of it that year.
Felix is a lifer. He loves the city and the team. He will retire as an M and he’ll go to the hall as an M.
As a Mariners fan I’m not really interested in what a Rangers fan has to say about how the M’s can compete.
FEliX Is OUrS And NO oNe elSE CaN HavE HIm!
Too bad they can’t get rid of their queen and jester.
Take that back. Brendan Ryan is awesome!
Headline 2 hours from now: Fielder signs with Nationals
1% isn’t much of a chance, but there’s still a chance!
so you’re saying there’s a chance!
hey wait…..what was all that 1 in a million talk?
I think signing Fielder is a GREAT move for the Rangers. I’d rather have him locked up long term than the oft injured Hamilton, and I believe his bat is better
We’ll take Hamilton off the Rangers hands…for…uhhh Volquez….Damn we already traded him… How about Dusty Baker? Final offer.
Fielder’s bat is not better than Hamilton’s.
If Hamilton could string together a full year you would be right. But if you look at the yearly stats you can make a case for Fielder being better.
Baltimore Orioles BABE BEE
B/C I predicted so & I’ve gotten 10 of my top 50 picks right thus far.
would it make sense if the jays offered 5 years $28.5m per season? it sets a new average annual salary record i believe for any player, and it’s the 5 years jays want.
I think the Jays would consider that, they’ve always said that its the ‘term’ that is the problem, not the dollars. Its expensive, but I think AA would show a great deal of faith and an intent to win now if he were to do this.
If the Rangers sign Fielder… look out.
At this point, the Brewers may want to open the wallet a bit and offer 5/100. It’s probably not anywhere near what Prince thought he would get, but it would make the Brewers that much better and he could return to a place he knows well.
I was wondering about that too, if his price falls enough would the crew come back into the fold?
Come to Pittsburgh! We will even give you your own veggie burger Primanti Bros sandwich!
all is quiet on the fielder front. either hes in intense negotiations with a team and they’re keeping it deadly quiet, or boras is waiting for the darvish situation to be resolved so he can give the rangers a call.
They are already a team you should say “look out” to…
I really think the Rangers would top that offer pretty quickly.
I hope Fielder goes to Rangers and then Mariners or A’s win the division. Don’t ask me how but I would love to see that.
Yeah, Texas’ and LAA’s AAA teams could probably beat the A’s and M’s right now.
Good one
It will be a good race between the Rangers and Angels. Mariners or A’s? Ah ha ha ha ha. Ah ha ha ha ha. Ah ha ha ha ha. Ah ha ha ha ha. Thank you, I haven’t had a good laugh in a long time.
Heyman notes that the Rangers are a “team of interest” to his best friend, Scott Boras.
I wish the Rangers would sign Prince & Darvish and trade Hamilton + prospect(s) for a stud pitcher or use Moreland + Rangers deep farm system to pull a stud pitcher down. Hamilton is a great person, but too injury prone for my liking.
I really like Josh Hamilton and seeing him go would be hard, but it would work. If he has another down year, I would think the Rangers would trade him prior to this years trade deadline.
Where ever he signs, invest in the grocery stores near his home.
HA! Cuz he’s FAT! I get it
Mariners still have $24MM to spend before they reach last year’s budget… not saying that he’s going there, but why else have they been so reserved?
Have they publicly said they are keeping same payroll
Fielder’s perceived value seems to be ever declining as it becomes clearer that most teams aren’t interested at all & a handful are interested at a limited salary (& for a shorter contract term).
If Braun isn’t paid for the likely suspended 50 games, perhaps this could in part fund a year’s return of Fielder to Milwaukee. But I haven’t heard any heartfelt enthusiasm by the Brewers for his return. Perhaps they have their reasons we are not familiar with.
“We’re quietly and actively pursuing Fielder while being aggressively layed-back in our approach”
These east coast writers are really trying to push this Prince to Nats deal. I wonder why that is?
Is there any talk of Braun’s situation impacting teams’ interest in Fielder? Not sure if teams are waiting to see how it plays out before throwing big money at Fielder or not. Wouldn’t be too surprised if some teams are taking a guilt by association stance.
anyone who pays more than 5/125 is taking on too much risk.