ESPN MLB Front Page - Prince Fielder

[Silk Wilkes]

So this is the article on ESPN right now and it links Prince Fielder to the Jays. I was wondering if anyone is an Insider and can give us a summary of what it talks about.

[jrsmith]

Yes please.

[hyper316]

has prince fielder ever lived in toronto when his dad was playing in toronto?

[Rhettmatic]

The article is more about how the Jays need Prince Fielder than it is about whether he'll actually consider signing here.

The arguments are numbered:

1) They have a need (author doesn't think much of Lind, argues that Jays don't have any game-changing 1B prospects, and says that Pujols or Fielder could add 7 wins over Lind)
2) They have money
3) They can't waste Jose Bautista's prime

They conclude that the Yankees and Red Sox are stacked at 1B/DH and so there won't be as much competition for Fielder and Pujols, thus making it easier for the Jays to get in on the bidding.

The author says the Jays could sign one of those guys, plus C.J. Wilson, be co-favourites in the division, and still have a payroll of less than $100 million.

For the record, the author thinks that Pujols will likely stay with the Cards, which is why he's keyed in on Fielder for us. He also says it "wouldn't be surprising" if Fielder outperforms Pujols over the course of their contracts, and says that he should come cheaper.

[Silk Wilkes]

Prince Fielder and C.J. Wilson? *Druel*

[Homer Jay]

Fielder is still only 27. Even an eight year deal only takes him to 35. I think he's worth the risk. He could have Bautista ahead and Lawrie behind... he will like that protection and RBI possibilities. Like the writer said it's a chance to land an elite player that for once the Red Sox/Yanks won't be going after as well and driving up the price. I think the big suitors will be the Giants, Orioles, Cubs, and us.

[fredericklove]

Is one the blue jays need the most? yes sir! Fielder + Bautista + Lawrie = Champion!!

[acemann]

id rather have pujols... and then sign david ortiz to dh


esco, rasmus, bautista, ortiz, pujols, lawrie, snider/thames, kelly johnson, jpa is championship caliber offensive line up.

big papi can prob be had for something like 3/45

and pujols will prob get less then prince (years and money)

[Wo1verine]

Makes all the sense in the world to sign Fielder.. It"s not like he's a 30- year-old vet either.. He fits in long-term.
Plus, We'd potentially would only have to out bid CHC, LAA and perhaps Texas for his services.

[Geddy]

Pujols or Fielder I don't really care.

In fact I wouldn't feel depressed if management threw bags of money at them and they turned it down to sign elsewhere. What i will feel depressed about is if they don't go after these guys at all, or low ball them with some **** dollar amount.

[CapeCrusader]

Hopefully Bautista could possibly lure him in. With the teams named above. I could only see him going with the Giants. A team that wasn't mentioned could be the Rangers, maybe they'll offer up the money they did for Lee last season.

[CapeCrusader]

Makes all the sense in the world to sign Fielder.. It"s not like he's a 30- year-old vet either.. He fits in long-term.
Plus, We'd potentially would only have to out bid CHC, LAA and perhaps Texas for his services.

Don't see the Angels really going for him with the emergence of Mark Trumbo. Texas like i said in my last post will prob offer him the Cliff Lee dough. As for the Cubs...they are a pretty bad team, don't see him wasting his prime over there.

[Wally West]

I could see Blue Jays going after a guy like Fielder who fits in as the youth movement going forward lol with him being 27. I agree with the fact that we can'et let Bautista's prime years go to waste and we have to do whatever we can by making moves that makes sense like a Fielder without sacrificing future talent.

[Kurtz]

Fielder is still only 27. Even an eight year deal only takes him to 35. I think he's worth the risk. He could have Bautista ahead and Lawrie behind... he will like that protection and RBI possibilities. Like the writer said it's a chance to land an elite player that for once the Red Sox/Yanks won't be going after as well and driving up the price. I think the big suitors will be the Giants, Orioles, Cubs, and us.

I think if you're to project his effectiveness, Cecil Fielder would be an ideal comparison, genetics and all.

Cecil started to slide at 32, and retired by 34.

So 5 years of prime Fielder, and 2-3 years where he'll be a solid DH.

Yea, 8 year deal sounds good. 7 would be great, and 10's probably too damn long

[soulchild_07]

This is ridiculously early to speculate on, but just for fun...during Fielders last 2-3 years of the deal, I suppose I would have him and Bautista DH while the other plays 1B, while maybe Marisnick takes over in RF...I don't think Fielder will be as crippling in his last few years as people think he will be. Having said that, if we do sign him, I hope that we front load his contract.

[JYD]

No issues giving him a 7-8 year deal at all. Don't think he's gonna lose much off his stroke in that time. He's just gonna keep crushing.

His dad is somewhat comparable, though his dad was bigger, with a longer swing that had a hitch in it. Thing I like about Prince's power swing is it's compact and doesn't have a lot of moving parts.

I think he'd look great in a Jays uni.

[Kurtz]

I think he'd look great in a Jays uni.

Not unless we switch to a more slimming colour.

[CapeCrusader]

Speaking of Cecil, has Prince and Cecil started talking again?

[Randle McMurphy]

Speaking of Cecil, has Prince and Cecil started talking again?

No, don't believe so.

[darth_federer]

The author of the piece was on TSN Radio today and I thought that I was listening to Randle on the radio. Same arguments and pretty persuasive to be honest.