Do You think Fielder Is Coming To The Cubs?

[Rice Cube]

Depending on your point of view, the longer this takes, the more likely (or less) it will be that Prince Fielder signs with the Cubs.

More likely: Fielder's asking price (and years) drops to the point that the Cubs are willing to pay to sell a few extra tickets.

Less likely: Because Fielder's price has dropped, other teams are now able to step in because they are either more desperate or are a better fit than the Cubs.

I was trying to look up other monster deals and happened upon the A-Rod deal about ten years ago. A-Rod signed with Texas in mid-December of 2000. Of course, Albert Pujols this season signed during the winter meetings in November. Both are HOF-caliber players. Fielder is a very good player, but I don't think he's going to be a first-ballot HOFer like A-Rod or Pujols. He's obviously not going to get paid as much unless a team is flat out stupid, and as of now it seems the list of suitors isn't that long.

Will be interesting to see how it plays out. I'd put the Cubs' chances at under 25% though as they are probably hit with "non-contending" and "rebuild" penalties.

 

[FirstTimer]

Depending on your point of view, the longer this takes, the more likely (or less) it will be that Prince Fielder signs with the Cubs.

More likely: Fielder's asking price (and years) drops to the point that the Cubs are willing to pay to sell a few extra tickets.

Less likely: Because Fielder's price has dropped, other teams are now able to step in because they are either more desperate or are a better fit than the Cubs.

I was trying to look up other monster deals and happened upon the A-Rod deal about ten years ago. A-Rod signed with Texas in mid-December of 2000. Of course, Albert Pujols this season signed during the winter meetings in November. Both are HOF-caliber players. Fielder is a very good player, but I don't think he's going to be a first-ballot HOFer like A-Rod or Pujols. He's obviously not going to get paid as much unless a team is flat out stupid, and as of now it seems the list of suitors isn't that long.

Will be interesting to see how it plays out. I'd put the Cubs' chances at under 25% though as they are probably hit with "non-contending" and "rebuild" penalties.

I'm hearing now Fielder wants a 5 year deal with more annually than what Pujols' pays...so he can renter the market at 32 like Albert did and get another huge deal.

Good luck with that.

Lulz.

*paging Anthony Rizzo*

 

[Rice Cube]

I'm hearing now Fielder wants a 5 year deal with more annually than what Pujols' pays...so he can renter the market at 32 like Albert did and get another huge deal.

Good luck with that.

Lulz.

*paging Anthony Rizzo*

The Cubs' form letter response should be "You are not Albert Pujols" :lol:

I think we're talking about Rizzo in the Garza thread too, but I had suggested a third contending team as a destination for Garza because it makes no sense to let SD do the Garza re-flipping and reap even more benefit. Multiple-team trades are obviously a bit more complicated though.

 

[FirstTimer]

The Cubs' form letter response should be "You are not Albert Pujols" :lol:

I think we're talking about Rizzo in the Garza thread too, but I had suggested a third contending team as a destination for Garza because it makes no sense to let SD do the Garza re-flipping and reap even more benefit. Multiple-team trades are obviously a bit more complicated though.

Morosi is hearing that the Rangers are the leader for Fielder.
Most still reporting the Cubs have no interest.

 

[Rice Cube]

Morosi is hearing that the Rangers are the leader for Fielder.
Most still reporting the Cubs have no interest.

Let Texas have him then. Go for it. After two straight years of heartbreak maybe that's all they need to get over the hump.

The money saved could go towards some of these guys (assuming some of them will bypass team extensions for a bigger payday):

2013 MLB Free Agents: MLB Rumors - MLBTradeRumors.com

 

[FirstTimer]

Let Texas have him then. Go for it. After two straight years of heartbreak maybe that's all they need to get over the hump.

The money saved could go towards some of these guys (assuming some of them will bypass team extensions for a bigger payday):

2013 MLB Free Agents: MLB Rumors - MLBTradeRumors.com

Look at that list it's pretty bleak at C, 1B, SS(not that it matters), 3B for the most part.

The potential OF class looks pretty nice along with SP and RP.

I still want to see us trade Marmol and get what we can for him now.

Sidenote: Watch Yadier jump ship to LA to join Pujols after this season as well.

 

[Rice Cube]

Look at that list it's pretty bleak at C, 1B, SS(not that it matters), 3B for the most part.

The potential OF class looks pretty nice along with SP and RP.

I still want to see us trade Marmol and get what we can for him now.

Sidenote: Watch Yadier jump shit to LA to join Pujols after this season as well.

:lol: Nice.

I was mostly looking at the SP. The position guys I think you'd want the Cubs to prioritize filling in-house via draft, trade, and other acquisitions. Brian McCann is kind of tempting although I think he'd get an extension.

I think Marmol should have been traded before Hendry inked that Special person contract extension. That basically shot his trade value to hell. At this point I think he's a salary dump candidate unless he pitches well for half the season, then they can unload him to someone desperate.

 

[FirstTimer]

Depending what Geo does with the Fielder stuff I like what he's doing right now.

Regardless of what Captain Obvious thinks this team is more than one player away from being "fixed" or being a contender of any real kind. Dumping a shit ton of money into Fielder would be a nice "pop" signing and generate some buzze, but wouldn't really address the many other issues with the club and could hinder fixing those later on due to the money being tied up in Fielder.

 

[DewsSox79]

Morosi is hearing that the Rangers are the leader for Fielder.
Most still reporting the Cubs have no interest.

that is still my choice on where he goes. i know the whole darvish thing has thrown it off a bit as far as media reporting no more funds, but i still think they will land him. seattle is a possibility as well.

dont count out a team that hasnt been mentioned at all, that i could see happening.

 

[Capt. Serious]

that is still my choice on where he goes. i know the whole darvish thing has thrown it off a bit as far as media reporting no more funds, but i still think they will land him. seattle is a possibility as well.

dont count out a team that hasnt been mentioned at all, that i could see happening.

CO: Fielder will sign with Cubs 2 yrs 10 mil

 

[Rice Cube]

that is still my choice on where he goes. i know the whole darvish thing has thrown it off a bit as far as media reporting no more funds, but i still think they will land him. seattle is a possibility as well.

dont count out a team that hasnt been mentioned at all, that i could see happening.

We should try to re-handicap the Fielder sweepstakes.

The ones who have a >0.5% chance of even wanting Fielder are:

Cubs
Texas
Milwaukee
Cardinals (maybe)
Seattle
Baltimore
Nationals
Marlins
Dodgers (though I don't know that they can legally spend money anymore)

The rest are either poor as dirt or have 1B already.

I don't think Fielder's market is that deep and that's why teams are content to play the waiting game. I also think it's very likely the team that ultimately signs him comes from the pool I listed, and also that they'll be able to convince Boras and Fielder to settle for a contract of six years or less at $22MM or less annually.

 

[waldo7239117]

Levine keeps sayin the Dodgers will land Fielder.

I just don't see how they can.

 

[Rice Cube]

Change of plan?

Prince Fielder Rumors: Tuesday: MLB Rumors - MLBTradeRumors.com

I somehow doubt a team is going to pay Fielder more than Pujols is making per year no matter how few years he's willing to sign for.

 

[ZDemp34]

Change of plan?

Prince Fielder Rumors: Tuesday: MLB Rumors - MLBTradeRumors.com

I somehow doubt a team is going to pay Fielder more than Pujols is making per year no matter how few years he's willing to sign for.

How about 1 year, $30M? Hahaha jk :lol:

 

[tjd61]

Folowing Theo's plan, supposedly, if the Cubs can work out a trade with the Padres or some three-way deal where they ultimately get Rizzo (22 year old Star prospect) from the Padres the push for Fielder may be a shelved. Though I think a five year deal for $20-$23 million a year might not be a bad move. A left handed power hitter with those credentials would be a geat cornerstone for the "New Look Cubs".

 

[Rice Cube]

Bruce Levine says Boras shot down the 3-year plan, so 5 years seems to be the bare minimum.

 

[Captain Obvious]

Depending what Geo does with the Fielder stuff I like what he's doing right now.

Regardless of what Captain Obvious thinks this team is more than one player away from being "fixed" or being a contender of any real kind. Dumping a shit ton of money into Fielder would be a nice "pop" signing and generate some buzze, but wouldn't really address the many other issues with the club and could hinder fixing those later on due to the money being tied up in Fielder.

Cubs are definitely more than a Fielder away from contending.

It's not like Fielder is going to cost *that* much money. If we sign him at 25MM, our payroll is still under 100MM. I think the Cubs' payroll is somewhere in the 115-120 range when it is all said and done.

Folowing Theo's plan, supposedly, if the Cubs can work out a trade with the Padres or some three-way deal where they ultimately get Rizzo (22 year old Star prospect) from the Padres the push for Fielder may be a shelved. Though I think a five year deal for $20-$23 million a year might not be a bad move. A left handed power hitter with those credentials would be a geat cornerstone for the "New Look Cubs".

I think that Rizzo is a back up plan to be honest.

Bruce Levine says Boras shot down the 3-year plan, so 5 years seems to be the bare minimum.

Agreed. I think he'll get 5 years. He wants at least 25.5MM/per. I would definitely do 5/128 I'd even go up to 5/140ish if we needed to. If we can have Fielder on a 5 year deal, we have to do it IMO. Too good of a thing to pass up.

 

[Rice Cube]

I'm thinking that Boras is delusional for asking for more than Pujols money for Fielder, and whichever franchise gives that kind of money to him is stupid and desperate.

 

[dabynsky]

I'm thinking that Boras is delusional for asking for more than Pujols money for Fielder, and whichever franchise gives that kind of money to him is stupid and desperate.

I don't completely agree with this statement. Pujols gave up some dollars per year for the added guaranteed years. I don't think a franchise is stupid for given Fielder more per year if they are paying him that rate for 5 years as opposed to 10 years for the older Pujols, even if Pujols is better.

 

[Rice Cube]

I don't completely agree with this statement. Pujols gave up some dollars per year for the added guaranteed years. I don't think a franchise is stupid for given Fielder more per year if they are paying him that rate for 5 years as opposed to 10 years for the older Pujols, even if Pujols is better.

If you try to project Fielder's aging curve and production, I don't think it's justified even if it's just a 5-year contract, especially if the club is in rebuild mode. I'm almost inclined to hope that Texas takes Fielder so it takes care of a number of problems. I and others have tried to guesstimate Fielder's value and I can't justify giving him more than about $22MM a year over five or six years. He's a great bat but he's not that awesome in all aspects of the game that you should commit that much money to him, no matter how much Boras tries to sell it. Pujols is an entirely different monster as I'm sure you're aware of.

Prince Fielder will sell tickets, but I think the money is better spent elsewhere. If they had been serious about Fielder, they would have kept Marshall and maybe kept Ramirez or tried to sign Jose Reyes. They did not. This is a line of reasoning separate from the "does Fielder deserve the Captain Obvious contract" but given what has transpired so far this offseason and the dearth of position player talent in next year's free agency class, it wouldn't have made sense to sign him anyway. Just my opinion.