Yep, off to Texas he goes. In return, the Tigers will receive 2nd baseman Ian Kinsler from the Rangers. Yeah, there's other small details and a little money shuffling involved, but that's pretty much the gist of it.
Tiger fans are probably aghast at such a trade, but they shouldn't be. Actually their team seems to have gotten the better end of the bargain.
Fielder will be 30 years old next May. Kinsler is 31, so the age factor is basically a push.
Fielder was OK defensively at 1st base, but nothing special. A lot of guys can play first base in a pinch. Second basemen need to have a lot more fielding skills, and Kinsler appears to have them. The Tigers' current second sacker, Omar Infante, which I believe roughly translates into see ya later baby, now likely finds himself without a place to play. The late Wally Pipp found out about that when a guy named Gehrig came along. Such is life in the big leagues. And let's face it. Infante, while a decent player, was the best the Tigers could come up with to fill a gaping hole at second base a while back. But he's no Ian Kinsler either.
Money-wise, if that even matters anymore, this is even a better bargain for the Tigers. Kinsler is under contract through 2017, and will cost the Tigers about $14 million a year over that time. For reasons yours truly will never understand, Tigers' GM Dave Dombrowski, undoubtedly with pizza man owner Mike Ilitch's blessing, once signed Prince Fielder to a whopping $214 million contract spanning nine years. The fifth largest contract in baseball history. For Prince Fielder? Are you kidding me? Starting in 2014, and running through 2020, this is going to cost somebody $24 million a year. Do the math and that's a lot of 6 dollar hot dogs and 10 dollar watered down draft beers. And you wonder why ticket prices are so high?
Besides, what has come to be the most important thing when considering an everyday player? Hitting, of course. Miguel Cabrera recently just won another MVP award because he's a terrific hitter. He can't do much else on the field, ala say, Mike Trout, but keep pounding the ball, and most people will overlook the other deficiencies in his game. Hell, even Babe Ruth could pitch.
More important yet is hitting when it counts the most. On that front, Prince Fielder has been a miserable failure. Despite usually batting behind the above-mentioned Cabrera, which should be advantageous, Cecil's boy has always seemed to choke up like Barney Fife when a serious criminal comes to Mayberry, or at least when the playoffs start and the pressure is on. In post-season play, he's been a bust for his whole career.
On the other hand, Ian Kinsler seems to handle himself quite well in such situations, batting nearly .300.
So let's hypothesize. Fielder is gone. Cabrera will likely move back to first base. Kinsler will step right into the starting second baseman position. Omar Infante will become some sort of utility player, if he's not dealt as well to shore up other needs. Like left field, or help in the bullpen.
Better yet, the Tigers' #1 hot-shot prospect Nick Castellanos, a natural third baseman, that was never going to be able to play there as long as Cabrera lumbered around the hot corner, might finally get his well-deserved shot at what he does best. Maybe he'll work out -- and maybe he won't. But it's high time the Tigers brought him up to the big leagues to see what he can do. Forcing Castellanos to learn how to be an outfielder in the minor leagues was always a dumb idea anyway. Let him play his natural position and let's see what happens. He'll certainly be an upgrade defensively over Cabrera.
Though time will tell, and there's no sure things, all-in-all yours truly thinks this was a good trade for the Tigers.
We shall see.....
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