With all the talk around Major League Baseball currently surrounding Yu Darvish, Albert Pujols, C.J. Wilson and the Angels, one of the premiere free agents in the 2011 class has been lurking in the background: Prince Fielder. While the Rangers have denied interest in a first baseman all offseason, citing that Mitch Moreland is the guy at first, Jon Heyman of CBS Sports seems to think that the Rangers are the favorites to land Fielder.
The lineup is already arguably the best in baseball, but first baseman Mitch Moreland didn't exactly distinguish himself in the playoffs and has a wrist injury to boot. There is word the Rangers have talked about trades for Moreland, giving rise to more rumors. While this team is excellent as is, the Rangers might want to counter the Angels, who stole ex-Texas ace C.J. Wilson and now have four starters who are more accomplished and arguably better than any of the Rangers' starters. The way to combat that is with bats. Well, here's one. Odds: 3-1
Heyman also states that Fielder is going to be looking for a contract at least in the range of Pujols' $254 million dollar deal that he received from the Angels. While he hasn't had the career that Pujols has had, Fielder might be the better bet going forward, as he is entering the prime of his career -- Fielder turns 28 next year, while Pujols will turn 32.
Daniels and the rest of Texas' front office always seem to play things close to the vest, so it's pretty difficult to gauge how much interest they have in Fielder.
Adding Fielder's bat to a lineup that already features Ian Kinsler, Josh Hamilton, Nelson Cruz, Mike Napoli and Adrian Beltre would be one way to ensure that the Rangers are once again the AL West favorites.