Yesterday afternoon Prince Fielder signed a ludicrous deal with the Tigers (which I panned a few hours ago). Now that we know he won’t be playing in Texas for the better part of the next decade, where do the Rangers go from here?
First of all, let me reiterate that the Fielder deal was not good for anyone but Fielder. It may bolster the Tigers’ line-up for a couple of seasons, but there’s a lot of potential for it to be an albatross for years to come. If I were a Tigers fan, I would be worried.
Now that the Rangers won’t be finding room in their budget for Prince, what are they to do with that extra money in the pipeline?
We’ve been told all winter that, aside from Joe Nathan (who was signed very early on) and Yu Darvish (who was a luxury more than he was the plan), the Rangers’ number 1 priority has been locking up the core.
Guys like Napoli, Hamilton, Cruz, Kinsler, Holland, Feliz, et cetera.
That’s where I think we’re headed. It was reported that extensions were being discussed with Napoli, Kinsler, Hamilton, and Holland, but those were all put on hold while they figured out what they were doing with Darvish.
Sometime in the next few days (or weeks) I expect talks with some of those guys to ramp up again. Especially with Hamilton.
It’s been indicated that Hamilton and the Rangers both want him to play here long-term. With the relatively light slugging class of 2013, there’s a lot more incentive to hold onto Hamilton.
I’m not saying I like it, but it’s the reality of the situation.
…
As far as seeing both Albert Pujols and Prince Fielder make moves to the AL in the last couple of months, I will let the great Malcolm Reynolds sum up my thoughts —
Getting awful crowded in my sky...
Advertisements
