OT: Yankees to go after Prince Fielder

[number15]

ralgm.com

John Harper of The New York Daily News writes that you can't rule out the Yankees flirting with Prince Fielder as a free agent this winter.

Specifically, Harper believes that the Yankees might look to make a splash if left-hander CC Sabathia signs elsewhere. Sabathia has an opt-out clause that would make him a free agent.

Signing Fielder and losing Sabathia would also likely force general manager Brian Cashman to use young designated hitter Jesus Montero in a trade for a starter.

This would be great news for the JAYS even after hearing the bad news that we lost out on Prince Fielder..... Yankees are weaker instantly if they replace (SP) Sabathia with (DH) Fielder, GREAT news.

First of all let me tell you, contrary to the article, there is 0% chance that Sabathia leaves the Yankees. They have the money and desperately need pitchers, with no better option on the market. Sabathia is just trying to drive up his price and get a new deal in NY with the Yankees. A-Rod did the same thing and got a FAT new deal. It will go down, book it.

Plus if the Yankees wanted Fielder they would just sign him anyway, they have the cash.... but they have bigger issues right now (pitching).... Plus Fielder will get paid somewhere else anyways, so why be full time DH for them.

[Schad]

....so what you`re saying is that there is absolutely nothing to this, and thus no reason to talk about it. And to inform us of the fact that we need not discuss this issue, you created a thread. Alrighty.

[number15]

....so what you`re saying is that there is absolutely nothing to this, and thus no reason to talk about it. And to inform us of the fact that we need not discuss this issue, you created a thread. Alrighty.

no i posted it cause it was discussed in the papers........ i just happened to disagree. Anyone else can think different

but yeh, lol.... probably killed the discussion with me original post.

shoulda left the opinions to the reply section

[rarefind]

just some idiot speculating something that won't happen... shoot, i might move to ny and become a beat writer too.

***if he wanted to make his piece of crap article actually plausible, he could have suggested: if yankees lose sabathia, they will trade teixera for pitching upon signing prince. neither one of those guys want to dh, and EVEN the yankees aren't going to pay someone upwards of 20 million dollars + to dh.

[Parataxis]

It really makes no sense - if the Yankees wanted Fielder, then CC has nothing to do with it, signed or not. It's not like the Yankees worry about payroll.

[Relentless88]

just some idiot speculating something that won't happen... shoot, i might move to ny and become a beat writer too.

***if he wanted to make his piece of crap article actually plausible, he could have suggested: if yankees lose sabathia, they will trade teixera for pitching upon signing prince. neither one of those guys want to dh, and EVEN the yankees aren't going to pay someone upwards of 20 million dollars + to dh.

Yankees will have to eat a lot of Teixera's contract if they want to move him. .840 OPS at first is pretty average for someone making 180 million. He also just had a terrible post season.

It's funny that everyone talks about the Yankees flaws in their pitching, but it was their offense that lost them that series. A-Rod/Teix/Swisher were awful.

[Sifu]

Yankees will have to eat a lot of Teixera's contract if they want to move him. .840 OPS at first is pretty average for someone making 180 million. He also just had a terrible post season.

It's funny that everyone talks about the Yankees flaws in their pitching, but it was their offense that lose them that series. A-Rod/Teix/Swisher were awful.

What's funny is how A-Rod commented about Jeter being done like dinner, and Jeter then turns around and has a nice season overall - especially considering how he started it. Whereas A-Rod may have had a solid season, but for the amount he got paid, it's certainly a failure.

[Wally West]

Mark Teixera has a full no trade clause. He's stated in the past and I quote, ""I got that no-trade for a reason. I'm going to be buried in these pinstripes."

[rarefind]

yankees may pretend interest in fielder simply to drive his price up. that way fielder's camp gets a bigger contract and the yankees try and put a financial hurting on the team that gets him much like they did with crawford.

[hyper316]

I can't see Fielder clogging the DH spot. with ARod and Jeter aging, yankees need that DH spot for them to get some at bats while taking a break from the field.

[CPT]

Not saying they won't do it, and not saying it won't work, but should be pretty clear to most observers that Fielder to the Yankees doesn't make sense, so any attempts they make to drive up his price should just be shrugged off.

They should spend their time, money, and energy retaining Sabathia and courting CJ Wilson anyway. If they let up on either front, one or both of those guys could end up elsewhere (99% sure CC stays, but if they make it seem like Fielder is a priority over him, who knows what could happen).

[NeverGoingToWin]

An underrated part that people do not talk enough about is Tex is a great 1st baseman and Fielder is very average if that. Jeter and AROD struggle with their throws but Tex is able to dig them out. I would be stunned if they traded Tex so that Fielder could play 1st base.

[Lateral Quicks]

There is practically zero chance Fielder is coming to Toronto. Consider:

1. AA is focused on acquiring above-average athletic, two way players. He's said this many times. Fielder is not a good defender. AA will not fork out huge dollars to a player that doesn't meet this basic requirement.

2. AA/Beeston are reluctant to hand out major long-duration contracts period, and Fielder will almost certainly demand one.

To me, Fielder is a high risk signing anyways. The man is 5-11 and weighs 275 pounds. His dad had 4 inches on him and weighed 45 pounds less. That height/weight combo is a recipe for injuries and/or health issues sooner rather then later.

If the Yankees want to sign him and create a logjam at 1B/DH, I'm not against it. Particularly if it means they don't address their pitching situation.

[Mr Swagtastic]

I seriously doubt that one of Fielder or Tex want to DH for a long time as both would be signed to long term contracts. I think that The Cubs and Mets could be the best suitors for Fielder right now, Theo looks like he's going to try to turn the Cubs around and put more butts in the seats.

Tex is way too good for the New York system and as a overall all around 1st basemen to want to have a log jam. I mean does New York really need more power when they have Granderson, Cano, A-Roid and Tex all being able to hit 30+ HR in their sleep a year?

[Dr Positivity]

There is practically zero chance Fielder is coming to Toronto. Consider:

1. AA is focused on acquiring above-average athletic, two way players. He's said this many times. Fielder is not a good defender. AA will not fork out huge dollars to a player that doesn't meet this basic requirement..

No, AA is focused on increasing his roster's total value by any means necessary. That may include athleticism in the outfield/SS, but at 1B no smart GM should care how fast the player is. And on that note, it's a minor point, but I would say Prince's athleticism is solid, he's just fat.

But I'm guessing he goes to a desirable American destination like the Angels, Cubs, Mets, etc.

[Avenger]

Fielder's athleticism is not solid, he's consistently ranked among the worst defensive players and base runners in baseball. He's also shown ZERO commitment to conditioning and improving in those areas, i mean the guy only gained weight once he switched to a vegan diet, that should tell you everything you need to know.

Prince might have two more good years left in him and maybe two more average years, he's gonna be a bottom 10 first baseman for the rest of his contract(which could be 4 more years since he's looking for an 8 year contract)

I don't know why people don't understand that bad contracts don't just hurt teams in terms of money, GM's and managers play bad players just because they make a lot of money even though its obvious that the player is clearly hurting the team. That's exactly what's gonna happen with Prince Fielder, he'll give you a couple of good years but he'll simply be a big negative in the latter years of his contract.

[mini]

Fielder's athleticism is not solid, he's consistently ranked among the worst defensive players and base runners in baseball. He's also shown ZERO commitment to conditioning and improving in those areas, i mean the guy only gained weight once he switched to a vegan diet, that should tell you everything you need to know.

Prince might have two more good years left in him and maybe two more average years, he's gonna be a bottom 10 first baseman for the rest of his contract(which could be 4 more years since he's looking for an 8 year contract)

I don't know why people don't understand that bad contracts don't just hurt teams in terms of money, GM's and managers play bad players just because they make a lot of money even though its obvious that the player is clearly hurting the team. That's exactly what's gonna happen with Prince Fielder, he'll give you a couple of good years but he'll simply be a big negative in the latter years of his contract.

Wait, he gained weight when switching to a vegan diet or was that a typo?

[Dr Positivity]

Well a good natural athlete can have bad conditioning. The fact that Fielder is fat and still able to play in a major sport, requiring sprinting to 1st and sprinting from 2nd to home against the efforts of world class physical specimens, probably means he's more athletic than the standard castoff player. There would be a lot of players who if you ballooned them, would not be able to make it even passably baserunning

Not to mention the athleticism needed to have standout MLB hitting, ie batspeed and strength...

[PimpHandStrong]

Not to mention the athleticism needed to have standout MLB hitting, ie batspeed and strength...

His BB% was also 15.5% this season, second among qualified MLB first basemen. Dude's still going to be able to hit at 32.

[Avenger]

Fielder's athleticism is not solid, he's consistently ranked among the worst defensive players and base runners in baseball. He's also shown ZERO commitment to conditioning and improving in those areas, i mean the guy only gained weight once he switched to a vegan diet, that should tell you everything you need to know.

Prince might have two more good years left in him and maybe two more average years, he's gonna be a bottom 10 first baseman for the rest of his contract(which could be 4 more years since he's looking for an 8 year contract)

I don't know why people don't understand that bad contracts don't just hurt teams in terms of money, GM's and managers play bad players just because they make a lot of money even though its obvious that the player is clearly hurting the team. That's exactly what's gonna happen with Prince Fielder, he'll give you a couple of good years but he'll simply be a big negative in the latter years of his contract.

Wait, he gained weight when switching to a vegan diet or was that a typo?

ok i might be exaggerating a little bit but we know for a fact that his conditioning and weight did not improve once he switched to a vegan diet. And i swear i heard some Brewers fans speculating that he only gained weight and got in even worse shape after he stopped eating meat