Top College News Subscribe to the Newsletter

Tigers Take Action, Agree To Terms With Prince Fielder

Published: Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Updated: Wednesday, January 25, 2012 14:01

Prince Fielder

flickr user: Steve Paluch

Fielder's addition to the Tigers makes their lineup one of the most dangerous in the MLB.

About a month ago, baseball fans around the world were all marveling at the departure of Albert Pujols from the St. Louis Cardinals to the Anaheim Angels.

Since then, we have all been waiting for the transition of Prince Fielder from the Brewers organization, since talks of him staying with his starter ballclub seemed highly unlikely.

Tuesday afternoon, a deal was finally made. 1st basemen Prince Fielder is reportedly joining Miguel Cabrera and the Detroit Tigers in a deal that would cost the Tigers 214 million dollars over the course of nine years. With this move the Tigers have added another big bat to an already offensive focused group of players. Since his emergence into the league in 2005, Fielder has been known for his exaggerated, overpowering, thunderous swings. Fielder's presence is a much-needed addition to a team that has lost an essential asset in catcher Victor Martinez. Fielder stands at a .282 batting average, 230 homerunsand 665 RBI's for his career and is coming off a season in which he batted .299 with 38 homers and 120 RBI's (second to his 144 in 2009).

Also, on the defensive side of the ball he is definitely a reputable 1st basemen as his name so ironically suggests. In the first seven years of his career, Fielder has committed a total of 68 errors compared to Cabrera who has committed 42 errors in four career years in which he started at 1st base.

It is still unclear who of the two will start at first base this upcoming season.

In my opinion, the Tigers will either move Cabrera to his former position at 3rd base or just place him as a DH. They need to keep Fielder at first and not try to push him into a role that he is not accustomed to playing. That would only limit his production since he would have to both produce numbers as well as get used to a completely different position.

All in all, Detroit, Anaheim, Texas and New York have all made some major improvements to their offense as well as their pitching. These adjustments to rosters that were already formidable have definitely put the pressure on teams who over the years in the American League have been so accustomed to either being on top or in close contention such as the Red Sox, Rays and Twins, among others.

Recommended: Articles that may interest you

Be the first to comment on this article! Log in to Comment

You must be logged in to comment on an article. Not already a member? Register now

Log In