Alright, Pujols will stay in St Louis in my opinion, which creates a very unusual, non-traditional market for Prince. Boston, New York, and Philly all have established First Basemen, which means they will not be pursuing Fielder. So right there are 3 teams that will not pursue him, which leaves 27 more. St Louis will not pursue him, obviously, because they will have Pujols returning. 26. More teams with established 1B are the Chicago White Sox, the Atlanta Braves, the Dodgers (who don't have any money anyways), the Mariners have Smoak and seem to be set but don't count them out as they need some serious fan interest quickly, the Tigers, the Twins, the Royals, and the Reds. 18. Okay, now the teams that, by my estimation, do not have enough money: the Brewers, the A's, the Indians, the Rays, the Orioles, the D-Backs, the Padres, the Mets, the Pirates, the Astros, and I will say the Giants, even though they conceivably could probably swing it, but probably won't. 7. The places that are possible, but it is doubtful for financial reasons or the team has a 1B they probably believe in (this sounds similar to the last two categories, but these are teams with more of a gray area in these two spots). The Angels have Trumbo and Morales coming back from injury, the Rockies just locked up Tulo with a massive contract and could maybe stretch it, but probably not. 5. Alright, we are down to 5, let us examine each team and decide on the possibilities...
FLORIDA MARLINS
The Marlins. Look, I know they are getting the new stadium and want to bring in a guy that will bring fans out and make their ballpark investment worthwhile. I will be honest, I cannot imagine any professional athlete besides LeBron going to Florida of his own accord. It would be like Drew Brees, in Free Agency, going to Jacksonville over somewhere that actually cares about sports. Professional Sports do not work in Florida, and I will believe that until I die. Mark my words, he will not go to Florida, and I cannot imagine anyone thinks so.
These last 4 are all extremely viable options, so let's take it alphabetically...
CHICAGO CUBS
Alright, this is a very logical place for all parties. Prince will get paid and have the confidence and trust in the organization that they will continue to spend money and improve the team to make title runs. The Cubs would get that middle of the order power hitter that they can build a lineup around. If Prince is all about the money, he could easily end up in Chicago. However, they are at least 3 years away from contending, and, being almost 28, he may not want to wait until he is 31 to MAYBE compete for a World Series Title. Don't ever count out Theo Epstein, though, as he always seems to get his man. They will throw some money at Prince, and he could very well end up playing at Wrigley.
TEXAS RANGERS
The Rangers' one black hole has been at 1B, and this could immediately change the entire dynamic of the Texas Rangers. The good thing about the Rangers is that they have the lineup to compete for the next 5 to 6 years, and have already been to back-to-back World Series. This is an extremely logical choice for Prince, as Texas should be able to match the Cubbies in dollars. Jon Daniels now has the leeway and the money to work with under the new ownership and he is obviously capable of working some magic. Texas has one of the top minor league systems and is probably the most proactive organization in Latin America. Prince would be able to have the confidence that this team can compete for the next decade and even beyond that. Not to mention that sweet, sweet RF Porch.
TORONTO BLUE JAYS
Toronto is probably the most intriguing team in the running for Prince. It has been awhile since they made a huge splash like this in free agency, and have really been irrelevant for the better part of a decade. But, Alex Anthopoulos, the Jays' GM, is literally a worker of magic, and could very well land Prince. They have a hitter's park, which I'm sure Fielder would appreciate so as to pump up his potential Hall of Fame numbers. They have the money to spend as they have not used a whole lot in recent years, and their pitchers, most of which are solid, are fairly cheap. Plus, hitting behind Jose Bautista would be a real treat, as Prince could re-create the tandem he had in Milwaukee with Braun. Look for this situation to play out more and more as we go deeper into free agency.
WASHINGTON NATIONALS
This is the one that most people seem to think will come to fruition, and, once again, it just comes down to whether or not he wants money or titles. If he wants the money, Washington is the place for him, much like Jayson Werth, but if he wants titles, soon anyways, he will not pursue the Nationals. Although, don't get me wrong, there are some advantages to going to Washington. They have a young, good pitching staff that will only continue to improve. Zimmerman is top notch and Strasburg, when healthy, could be as good as there is in the Majors. Also, hitting between Ryan Zimmerman and Jayson Werth would provide protection and many RBI opportunities for Fielder. Washington is a very logical place for the Prince to go.
Look, all 4 of these final places make sense for Fielder, but there is only one place where he can step in and be given a shot at a ring in year one, and that is Texas. Now, I cannot say with certainty what kind of guy Prince Fielder is, and whether or not money or championships is his main goal, but I know for most players, the opportunity to win titles is what drives them to get better. If I were a betting man, I would say Prince Fielder winds up playing First Base for the Texas Rangers for the next 7 years, at 23 million a pop. Book it.
Look at this week's CFB Predictions below...
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