A King's Ransom for Prince

In news that came as a shock to everyone in the baseball community, Prince Fielder agreed to a nine-year, $214 million deal with the Detroit Tigers earlier this afternoon.

After the Rangers' signing of Yu Darvish last week, the sweepstakes for Fielder's services became the main attraction of the baseball world. Rumors, some seemingly-reliable (and others completely made up in a desperate ploy for attention) were rampant, and it seemed like the so-called "favorite" to land Fielder changed each day. Would he take a one-year deal to go on the market again next season? Would the Rangers still go after him after landing Darvish? Hypothetical scenarios were abound as everyone waited to see where the former Brewers slugger would land.

In the end, however, Scott Boras was able to pull yet another rabbit out of his hat. A very, very expensive rabbit. Out of the ten free agent contracts worth over $100 million signed since 2007 (including Fielder's), Boras has represented half of them. Many may have poked fun at Boras' marketing tactics with Fielder, including the 73-page brochure he created for "prospective buyers," but it's Boras who is doing all the laughing now.

For the Tigers, Fielder's impact will be immense (not a weight reference), both in Detroit's lineup as well as financially. For starters, with the contracts of Fielder, Miguel Cabrera and Victor Martinez, the Tigers have over $300 million committed to three players who are defensive liabilitites, but some of the best in the game with a bat in their hands.

It was only less than a week ago that we learned Victor Martinez would miss all of 2012 after tearing his ACL in an offseason workout. In a story from the USA Today concerning V-Mart's injury, Tigers president Dave Dombrowski offered this quote that is particularly amusing after today's news:

"Opening Day is not until April 5, we have plenty of time to deal with the situation. We don't have to rush out there and do something immediately. You have to digest things and adjust accordingly."

In terms of "adjusting accordingly," Dombrowski likely pulled off one of the greatest adjustments in baseball history. It's like if you had a BMW that needed to go to the repair shop for a while. You may think "this won't be fun having to take the bus for a while." Until you realize "hey, I'll just buy this Lamborghini instead!"

Jokes aside, Fielder's impact on the Tigers' lineup is one that will scare many teams in the American League. Even after Martinez's injury, it was hard to imagine any team overtaking Detroit in one of the weakest divisions in baseball, if not the weakest. The Royals may be the closest team to the Tiger with their young talent, but it's more than likely that Kansas City is still a couple of years out from even beginning to sniff playoff contention. Ultimately, getting to pencil Cabrera and Fielder (and eventually Martinez) into the lineup each day will be a problem Jim Leyland should enjoy dealing with.

Defensively, Tigers fans may want to be shielding their eyes in anticipation of their club getting the bat back in their hands. As mentioned before, the trio of Cabrera, Fielder, and Martinez may as well be Larry, Curly and Mo on defense, but clearly Detroit believes that the offense they're able to provide will offset what they do in the field. What will be interesting to see is what kind of effect Detroit's defense has on their pitching staff. AL MVP and Cy Young winner Justin Verlander posted a ridiculous .236 BABIP last season, so one should watch out for the kind of impact the Tigers' defensive blunders have on the type of numbers Verlander puts up. I'm not saying Verlander will turn into Carlos Silva all of a sudden, but it'll at least be something to watch. In all likelihood, it should have a much greater impact on the rest of the pitching staff, particularly with a guy like Doug Fister who doesn't rely heavily on swing-and-miss stuff.

What was most surprising about the contract itself was that the deal does not having any type of opt-out clause. Some had speculated that there was a chance Fielder would take a three-year or other short-term deal, opt out, and then hit the market again when struggling big-market clubs like the Mets and Dodgers regain their financial stability. It turned out that the strategy was not to be, and Boras was able to find a buyer who went all-in to land Prince.

The deal, like Pujols' with the Angels, is likely to look pretty ugly near the end, especially given Fielder's body type and next-to-zero defensive value. But in the short-term, the Fielder signing is one that will make Detroit a legitimate contender for the American League pennant for the foreseeable future.



Finally, I'd like to leave you with the image above (from Sports Illustrated) that has been circulating around the Internet ever since the news of Fielder's signing broke. The photo above is of nine-year-old Prince with his father and former Tiger Cecil Fielder, in the clubhouse prior to the 1993 All-Star Game. I'd like you to look at this photo, paying close attention to the young Prince, and realize that that same person later went on to make over $200 million as a professional athlete. If anything, this is proof that in America, you can achieve anything you set your mind to.

Especially with Scott Boras on your side.