Will Prince Fielder be worth whatever it costs to bring him here?

[jamalshw]

I voted 'no' to this poll, but that doesn't mean I don't want the Orioles to pursue him this offseason. In fact, that doesn't mean I don't want the Orioles to sign him!

I know that when you account for the final years of his sure-to-be monster contract and crunch the numbers he will not statistically be worth the amount he's paid over the long haul. That said, I still want to make a run and feel that the name recognition alone will help sell seats and make up some (if not all) of the difference. Overall, I just want to see the Orioles dedicated to winning and with the horrible offense we have seen so far in 2011 and in 2010 before that, I am anxious to see a ligitimate middle of the order hitter.

I think Wieters and Jones are great pieces to the puzzle, but neither are going to develop into a legit 3 or 4 hole hitter. Likewise, Markakis should be a 2-hole hitter at his best (and now that he's at his worst he certianly isn't a 3-hole hitter). Overall, Fielder would go a long way to help shape our deformed line-up.

[El Gordo]

Unless he gets less than 7/120 then no. I think he should be worth about $100M for 5 years and maybe another 20 M for the last 2. But he is certainly going to get more than that on the market, where ever he ends up.

[BaltimoreTerp]

What's not to like about an obese 4-win DH signed to a 7/175 deal through his mid thirties?

Edit: for the sake of accuracy I should note he's only been about a 3-win player.

Greatest. Edit. Ever.

[scOtt]

Not if he gets more than 4 or 5 years. Right now he's worth north of $20 million a year. But, as contracts almost always increase each year, there's no way he's worth 25 to 28+ for years 5, 6, 7, ..... He's more likely to be out of baseball.

[Sports Guy]

The answer is obviously no.

The better question is, should it matter?

[waroriole]

As far as WAR value, almost definitely not. However, the presence of a big bat in the lineup should have some positive intangible benefits that show the O's fans that they are interested in making a REAL push. It's hard to say what that is worth to the franchise, but I think it could be bigger than some realize.

[Mizerooskie]

The answer is obviously no.

The better question is, should it matter?

The answer to the better question is no, unless a high-minors power bat is acquired this season.

[El Gordo]

Prince Fielder always struck me as similar to Mo Vaughn. Their numbers for their first 7 years are virtually the same, .920 to .925 OPS. Mo averaged 36 HR 108 RBI and a .923 OPS for his years 28-34(injured age 33). Is Prince so much fatter than Mo that he can't do as well for the next 6 years?

[scOtt]

Prince Fielder always struck me as similar to Mo Vaughn. Their numbers for their first 7 years are virtually the same, .920 to .925 OPS. Mo averaged 36 HR 108 RBI and a .923 OPS for his years 28-34(injured age 33). Is Prince so much fatter than Mo that he can't do as well for the next 6 years?

I don't remember exactly when Mo became primarily a DH. If Fielder moves to that very soon, maybe he lasts...

[ShaneDawg85]

Zero defensive value, overweight, and one small step from becoming ever more overweight. Giving him an insane contract would likely be the tipping point that ends up tipping the scales beyond the point of no return. There are players to invest in on long-term deals, and Prince Fielder is not one of them.

[DrungoHazewood]

Prince Fielder always struck me as similar to Mo Vaughn. Their numbers for their first 7 years are virtually the same, .920 to .925 OPS. Mo averaged 36 HR 108 RBI and a .923 OPS for his years 28-34(injured age 33). Is Prince so much fatter than Mo that he can't do as well for the next 6 years?

Sure, he could play as well as Mo Vaughn over the next six years. From age 28-on Mo was worth about 16 or 17 wins, or in current dollar values about $80M. Talk is Fielder will get a deal in the $120-175M range. Fielder would have to be massively better than Vaughn to make such a deal even remotely reasonable.

[JTrea81]

Not statistically, but yes he'll be worth it for the boost he'll provide to the lineup.

Who else that will be available is going to give you that production?

[blid]

Prince Fielder is on FIRE right now:

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/players/7290

Who are we likely to be bidding against? I think I saw a thread saying there was a rumor the O`s would be looking to buy big but I can't find it now.

[Slappy]

For those who like clean mathematical formulas to analyze baseball, probably not.

For those who actually like to watch the games, hell yes. If not Fielder, who else? And why does everyone care so much about saving money? It's not like we've done wonders with MacPhail's cheapass approach.

[Sports Guy]

For those who like clean mathematical formulas to analyze baseball, probably not.

For those who actually like to watch the games, hell yes. If not Fielder, who else? And why does everyone care so much about saving money? It's not like we've done wonders with MacPhail's cheapass approach.

Because if we committ 23 million to one player and have a 95 million dollar payroll, you are spending a ton of money on one player.

To do that, you have to have TB like depth in the minors...You have to have a lot of cheap players and you have to operate in a very smart way.

The Orioles have none of that except for some cheap players who will be getting expensive soon.