Former baseball slugger Cecil Fielder was quite surprised on Jan. 24 when it was announced that his son Prince Fielder had signed a nine-year contract with the Detroit Tigers. When in Toronto a couple of weeks ago, the elder Fielder said he thought his free agent son, who played with the Milwaukee Brewers last season, would end up signing with the Washington Nationals. It looks like the offer of cashing in $214 million over the length of the Tigers deal was just too good to turn down though.
The Tigers suddenly became interested in the first baseman after it was revealed that designated hitter Victor Martinez is going to miss the entire MLB season due to a torn ACL in his left knee. The Tigers originally looked for a short-term deal to solve their problem, but then decided to jump in head first and offer fielder a long-term contract. It’s now a done deal unless Fielder fails his physical, which is possible, but not likely.
The deal means Fielder will be with the Tigers, a team his father played for, up until 2020, when he’ll be 36 years old. Losing Martinez from their lineup will hurt the Tigers as he had 103 RBIs and a .330 batting average last season, leading the team to their first division crown in 24 years. The Tigers already have a big-hitting first baseman in Miguel Cabrera, and it’s believed he could be moved to first base while Fielder takes over at third. However, that means the Tigers won’t be among the league’s best defensively at the corners.
Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski stated publicly that the Tigers would consider Fielder, but he didn’t think the club would be a good fit for him. However, team owner Mike Ilitch obviously felt a deal could be worked out with Fielder’s agent Scott Boras and he was right. Ilitch has a soft spot for Fielder since he used to hang around Tiger Stadium when his father played for the team early in the 1990s.
Cabrera reportedly has no problem moving from first place and said he was looking forward to playing on the same team as Fielder. Cabrera told a Venezuelan newspaper that he’s going to be playing third base next season, but it’s unclear if that will be his full-time position. It’s possible that he rotates at DH with Fielder and could still play some first base. Cabrera played third base previously for a few seasons as a member of the Florida Marlins. He was moved to first base in 2008 by Detroit.
However, things could get a little crowded once Martinez returns to action in 2013. But it looks like the Tigers aren’t going to worry about that until the time comes. Fielder hit for a .299 batting average last year with 38 homers and 120 RBIs, so the Tigers view the possible player logjam in 2013 as a good problem.
