The Prince of Detroit

So, what is the smartest thing to do when your team already has an overweight, defensively challenged, hard hitting first basemen? Obviously, sign another overweight, defensively challenged, hard hitting first baseman! I kid, I kid, but the signing of Prince Fielder by the Detroit Tigers is one of the biggest surprise signings of the off-season, right behind the Albert Pujols to the Angels deal.

As a GM, why would you overload your team at first base, when both players have a reasonably similar skill set? Lets compare the numbers of Prince Fielder and current Tigerts 1B Miguel Cabrera:

Fielder: .299 BA, .415 OBP, 38 HR, 120 RBI, 106/107 K/BB, 5.2 WAR (wins above replacement)

Cabrera: .344 BA, .448 OBP, 30 HR, 105 RBI, 89/108 K/BB, 7.1 WAR

I think the most important thing to notice about these statistics is not that Fielder hit more homeruns, or that Cabrera led the AL in batting average and on base percentage, or that both players posted a very impressive WAR. The most important thing to note is that both of these players are preeminent offensive players in Major League Baseball. Both Cabrera and Fielder absolutely hit the stuffing off of the baseball in the 2011 season.

To me, as a GM, the question of redundancy at the position is moot. If you have one awesome player and have the opportunity to add another, and you can afford it without crippling your team, why not go ahead and do it? There are a couple of options to get Cabrera and Fielder in the lineup every day. Cabrera can go back to 3B, or one of the two players can DH each day. The only real trouble comes in the 2013 season, when Victor Martinez returns from an ACL tear. He will not be able to catch every day, so he will need the DH spot at least once in a while, which may determine that Cabrera move back to 3B no matter what.

I predict that the Detroit Tigers are one of the most well attended teams in the coming season. Combining the gregarious personality of Prince Fielder with the talent of Miguel Cabrera and the Cy Young caliber pitching of Justin Verlander will make the Tigers a threat to win the World Series in the coming year.

But what do you think? Will Prince Fielder and Miguel Cabrera be able to work well together? Will the Tigers regret a 9 year, 212 Million dollar contract for a player who is very durable, but still plays around 250 lbs or more? Only time will tell.