There were two monster bats in the free agent market, and if anybody out there predicted that they'd end up with the Angels and Tigers, I want to see some time-stamped proof.
It took six weeks after Albert Pujols signed with Los Angeles for Prince Fielder to find his new home, and while everybody focused on the Washington Nationals and Texas Rangers, the Detroit Tigers stunned everybody by signing him.
The 27-year-old first baseman, whose father starred for the Tigers a generation ago (and dazzled onlookers with his potential), is going back to Motown on a nine-year, $214 million contract, the fourth-largest in baseball history. Detroit makes all the lists of cities experiencing hard times, but the Tigers certainly aren't acting like it.
Baseball-wise, it's stunning on quite a few levels. For one, the Tigers already have an MVP-caliber first baseman in Miguel Cabrera, meaning Fielder will either DH or Cabrera will DH or play third base. Last year's DH, Victor Martinez, is out for the season with a knee injury. It also means that the Tigers paying two sluggers with a history of weight issues more than $40 million per year.
The Tigers now have a hammer-lock on the best team, talent-wise, in the AL Central. Wrote the Detroit Free Press' Michael Rosenberg: "Signing Fielder makes the Tigers the most likely playoff team in all of baseball for 2012. The other four teams in the American League Central could merge and the Tigers might win the division anyway."
But with big contracts on big men comes limited flexibility. The Tigers have now locked up three players -- Cabrera, Fielder and Cy Young/MVP winner Justin Verlander -- to roughly $65 million annually for the next three years. That's more than the second-place Indians paid their entire roster last year. And if one or two of Detroit's big three go down with an injury -- especially Verlander -- it would be a disaster, because the Tigers won't be able to stretch much further with their payroll.
The Tigers also play in a pitcher's park. Doug Fister is a ground-ball pitcher, and an infield with both Cabrera (at third) and Fielder won't be pretty at times. Jhonny Peralta at shortstop is no Ozzie Smith. All three might be Silver Sluggers, but they bear little resemblance to Gold Gloves.
So are the Tigers a better team today? Sure they are. Should the rest of the division just hand the Tigers the title because they had a great offseason? Ask the Red Sox how that worked out last summer.
Comments
Well my take on this signing is a 2 pointer, point 1 Tigers are running scared due to the Santana situation ,therefore common sense turns to desperation—like the Angels and the Marlins little minds that believe the hype take over,( well look at the Cubs idiocy did what?). Point 2 2 good baseball men are scared to death that they will lose the central dision and their jobs, therefore act accordingly . Sadly I pray the ANGELS,MARLINS AND TIGERS go so badly that they are playing aa players in August. My personel feeling is that we need less Yankee thinking and more thinking that like real life teams budgets need control like their fans budget or pretty soon baseball will cease to exist then I will have little to make life seem right—-Selig has done his job with drugs nor with insanity control.