| 06 December 2011
The Winter Meetings started Monday in the deep heart of Texas, and the Orioles along with the other 29 teams in the sport are conducting business for next year
. Right now, Baltimore needs pitching, pitching and more pitching as Buck Showalter and Dan Duquette have stated to the masses during the past few days.
As most everyone in the media has stated, the Orioles will be trying to build up their teams via trades, and not the way the Miami – formerly the cheap Florida – Marlins are going.
However, despite the Orioles’ reluctance to get into the high-dollar purchases on the market, Dan Duquette mentioned that the organization may be in the Prince Fielder hunt.
I do believe it? Who knows.
Do I see him as an Oriole hitting rockets over the right field wall at Camden Yards. No.
Fielder is one of the elite hitters on the market, he’s still in his prime and Baltimore desperately needs an impact bat in the middle of their lineup.
I think Fielder will go wherever the money is, considering that Scott Boras is his agent and there’s little need to sign somewhere now, especially when the two have time to create their own market.
However, if I were him, I would stay in Wisconsin. He's got a good situation there, full of talent and it may be his best chance to win. Then again, do the Brewers have the money to sign him?
Now, considering what the Orioles have gone through the past decade and half, would they shell out the money for Fielder? Attendance at Camden Yards has fallen greatly, the Orioles really don’t have much buzz in the mid-Atlantic right now – the Nationals have sapped it up, and the fan-base needs someone and something to get excited about.
Lord, would I love to see him in the black and orange. I will pay more to see a player of his caliber in Baltimore. In addition, if he were signed by the Orioles, it would show the sport that they mean business and are beyond desperate to get out the American League East cellar.
Sadly, signing Fielder would be a very bad move right now for the franchise. The Orioles have a lot to fix - from top to bottom - and spending north of $20 million for a slugger isn't a very good way to spend money.
They may be better off just spreading any free money in terms of their budget on several players to plug in several holes – not just one. Plus, if the Orioles don’t get better while he’s in town, a Fielder contract could cripple the organization financially. Then again, Fielder also could be traded as well.
However, if the Orioles were to bid on Fielder, Boras may use the organization in much the same way that he leveraged a deal for Mark Teixiera.
Fielder – in terms of his offensive output – is a pretty much a sure thing, and he’s durable. However, his body is a concern (he looks more like a center for the Packers than a ballplayer) and he may not age very well at all.
I would think the man would need to take better care of his physique and cut down his body fat, but as is the case is with C.C. Sabathia – as long as you produce, it’s not a concern. It's only a problem when you stop doing so.
Also, would Fielder want to endure another protracted rebuilding process during the prime of his career? Remember in the middle part of the last decade, the Orioles signed Miguel Tejada as their big bat.
For the most part, Tejada did his job – alas, let’s not forget, where did the Orioles end up?
They were certainly not contenders.
I’ll say this again and again: Prince Fielder will not be coming to the Orioles.
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