With the Seahawks season over and no basketball team here in Seattle, one of the focuses of the Seattle sports landscape is on the Mariners and their pursuit of Prince Fielder. I’m here to offer my opinion on the matter: It would be better if we didn’t sign Fielder. Yes, he’s only 27, but he is a whopping 285 pounds and has slow speed and very little range at first base. But that’s just the negatives about his playing abilities.
Signing Fielder would really only benefit the Mariners if they were able to sign him to a 2-4 year contract. That way, if he drops off after a couple seasons, the Mariners could then trade him and not lose much or just simply let him go after his contract expires. Investing 7 years and over $200 million in him is extremely risky and would become a huge burden if Fielder were to struggle, which I think he would. The unfortunate thing is, Fielder only wants a contract of around 7 years in length, which makes it tougher to decide.
If Prince Fielder was a Mariner, he would more than likely see a drop in his statistics. One reason being the home park he would play in, Safeco Field, which is known to be a pitcher’s park. Also, he would not be protected by any other bats in the lineup (He had Ryan Braun in Milwaukee). Also, the Mariners certainly have not had recent success with free agents, with all of the following considered to be busts: Chone Figgins, Richie Sexson, and even Adrian Beltre. Those are the three players who have earned the largest Free Agent Contracts from the Mariners in the past decade, and all three underperformed. Two of the three, the two power hitters Sexson and Beltre, came from the National League, which Fielder would be coming from as well. The odds are against Fielder repeating his success.
I’m also worried about the possible signing because of his character. The tattoos don’t bother me too much (Josh Hamilton has a lot and he’s a good player), but he has a bit of a sour attitude, doesn’t get along with his dad (former Major League Cecil Fielder), and he could turn into a sour apple much like Chone Figgins has. I could easily see a mutual hate between the fans and Fielder come to fruition.
Personally, I don’t think we will sign him. Sure, he has a good connection with our GM Jack Zduriencik (Jack used to be the Assistant GM of the Brewers), but he wants to stay in the NL and play for an organization that could win a championship. The Cubs are a trendy pick because of their long history, and the Nationals are building up a lot of good young players, including Bryce Harper and Stephen Strasberg. The Mariners are not appealing enough, especially to a power hitter, and at this point I’d be shocked if he chose the Mariners.
If by some weird outcome the Mariners did sign him, I do think they’d have a real good chance of being competitive. But that’s what we’ve said every year after our big moves, such as signing Beltre, Sexson, Figgins, and when we made trades for Erik Bedard and Cliff Lee. Each of the seasons after acquiring those five players was a huge disappointment. If the Mariners signed Fielder, I really do believe we would have to start the rebuilding process over again, because we’d be tied down to his contract. We’ve done this process over and over. The Mariners need to take things slowly this time. There are a lot of good, young players still developing, and this team needs to continue to draft and sign young players who will have a positive impact. Now is not the time to sign a power bat, especially one that would cost the M’s over $200 million over the next seven years.
I will however say the Mariners need a power bat. It’s obvious. This team is really made up of slappy singles and doubles hitters, with Ichiro being the prime example. But I think the Mariners will have to get a power bat from 3 other methods: 1) Draft/promote someone from the minor leagues, 2) Trade for one, or 3) Wait until the next offseason. Look, the Mariners are not going to be suddenly good in 2012. We don’t have to put all our eggs in one basket. It’s going to take some more time. I think Jack Zduriencik will make a trade for a power hitter at some point, either later this offseason, before the trading deadline (if the Mariners are competitive), or next offseason. Or perhaps Mike Carp, Casper Wells, or someone else will emerge as a power hitter and hit 25 or more home runs.
Next season is not going to be about winning it all, or even getting to the playoffs. The Mariners are still in a rebuilding mode, and like it or not, signing Prince Fielder would be a huge mistake, at least down the road. Fortunately, the Mariners should be close to the end of their rebuilding process soon and should be a competitive team by 2013 at the latest. And let’s not forget, Jack Zduriencik could still surprise us and trade for a big bat before even 2012 starts. Time will tell. Don’t give up hope, M’s fans, even if we don’t get Fielder, because we can live without him.
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