| Where Will Pujols & Fielder Land? |
| By Sally Haase Novemeber 2, 2011 With the World Series over baseball has officially started its off season. With the off season come trades and free agent signings. There are two big free agents this off season, both in the National League and both are first basemen, Albert Pujols and Prince Fielder. Both are going to be big contract players and the big question is where each will end up and who will be able to afford them. The three usual suspects- Yankees, Red Sox, and Phillies are already set for first basemen and right now Pujols and Fielder are still too young to take a full time designated hitter role so I do not see either moving to those three teams. The Los Angeles Dodgers and Angles and the New York Mets are some other teams with deep pockets who could be looking to pursue either. The Dodgers have James Loney at first base right now and he does a fine job but he does not have the offensive numbers of Pujols or Fielder. But the Dodgers are still in some financial trouble with the Frank McCourt situation so they may not have the permission to spend the million upon millions it would take to sign Pujols or Fielder. The Angles have second year player Mark Trumbo at first base, Trumbo had a fantastic rookie season, hitting 29 home runs, and the money is certainly there for the Angles. The thing the Angles need to look at is if they trust Trumbo to repeat his rookie season or improve on it. The Mets look like they could be the strongest pursuer of the free agents, their current first baseman- Nick Evans is no where near the talent of Pujols and Fielder. Other options could be the Texas Rangers, the platoon of Mitch Moreland and Mike Napoli may be wearing thin and if Ron Washington had a permanent option at first base it would be one less thing for him to worry about. The Seattle Mariners are not shy about spending money, but every time they spend the money to bring in a big ticket free agent (Richie Sexton, Eric Bedard) they get burned. The Mariners might be a little gun shy. Justin Morneau has shown that he can find new and interesting ways to get hurt in each of the past three seasons, but like always the Twins will keep their purse strings very tight during the off season and only spend money on retaining current players. I bet Fielder would make Target Field look small, but that is a dream and only a dream. Plus the Twins really need to look at the pitching options that will be available this off season. The Brewers and Cardinals each get first chance to re-sign their respective players and it is very likely that they will stay with their current team. I really cannot see Pujols in another uniform; he’s a Cardinal for life in my book. But I do see Fielder leaving the Brewers for a bigger contract somewhere else the question is who will be the one to lure him away from the Brewers. |
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