Who are the Winners and Losers in the Prince Fielder Contract Deal with the Detroit Tigers?

At the conclusion of the 2011 Major League Baseball postseason fans, the media, and many others shifted gears to talk about the off-season and what may be transpiring. Two of the biggest conversations had were regarding two free agent first baseman in the National League.

Both of these men had spent their entire MLB professional careers with their respective teams and were widely considered to be the anchors of their offenses. I am referring to Albert Pujols and Prince Fielder.

Pujols signed a ten year deal with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim worth approximately $240 million dollars back in December of 2011. Now reports are coming out that Fielder has worked out a deal to take his talents to the Detroit Tigers franchise. The deal has been reported to be a nine year deal worth $214 million. With the deal appearing to be imminent, pending a physical, let’s take a look at the winners and losers.

Prince Fielder – Getting paid over $200 million dollars to play a sport makes you a winner by default. Inking a nine year deal gives him security and a paycheck until he is thirty-seven years old.

The Detroit Tigers – Fielder is a big bat that will add to any baseball lineup. Concerns were voiced because of his size (he weighs about 275 pounds) breaking down his body but being in American League will allow Detroit to use Fielder as a DH and give him a break in the field. Being a full time DH might be a decision later in his contract when he will probably slow down a little bit.

A home run hitter is also a big draw at the turnstiles. Fans love to see players hit the ball a very long way and Fielder can do that. Remember the old Nike commercials showing slugger Mark McGwire hitting homers and drawing the admiration of female fans? Cy Young winning pitchers Tom Glavine and Greg Maddux decide to train real hard until they too can hit the ball out of the park, only then is attention given to them from the same female admirers. The saying “chicks dig the long ball” was born and will forever be bonded with home runs.

Tigers fans – While probably still dealing with heartburn, after learning Victor Martinez was likely lost for all of the 2012 season, management signs someone like Fielder to fill the void. Fans were probably very excited about their odds to repeat in the AL central, prior to the Martinez news, with reigning AL MVP and CY Young winner Justin Verlander anchoring the rotation; adding a bat the caliber of Fielder increases their repeat chances exponentially.

Cecil Fielder – Cecil has to be a very proud papa with his son signing with his old team. The stadium is different than the one Cecil used to drop bombs at but it is still the Tigers.

Tigers pitching – A proven slugger, who can drive in 100+ RBI’s, can help any pitching staff because it gives them a little bit more room for error. If your offense is anemic you may feel like every pitch has to be perfect because you can’t get any offensive support.

Tigers offense – Fielder hit almost .300 last year with 38 home runs and knocked in 120 runs. Any offense, in their right mind, would welcome a player like that into their lineup with open arms.

Cincinnati Reds and St. Louis Cardinals – With Fielder gone Milwaukee will have a difficult time repeating their 2011 success. The Cardinals can push to win the NL Central while the Reds can hope to compete more like they did in 2010 and get back to the top.

The Milwaukee Brewers – Fans probably already knew Fielder was going to leave, especially with him making comments to that effect back in September, but this makes it official. Add this to the pending 50 game suspension of Ryan Braun for testing positive for an illegal substance and it might be a long summer for Brewers baseball.

The AL Central – The Cleveland Indians and Chicago White Sox were hoping to build on the positives last season and to compete with Detroit. This signing throws a monkey wrench into those plans. It isn’t a hopeless cause but it did just get way more difficult.

The National League – A balance of power took place this off-season with two of the league’s biggest hitters joining the AL camp in Pujols and Fielder. It will truly be a different All-Star game this year.