Prince Fielder inked one of the richest contract in baseball history this past week, signing a nine year deal with the Detroit Tigers that will pay him $214 million dollars. The Rangers, who tried to sign him, apparently weren't ever close to signing him, as Rangers general manager Jon Daniels admitted that Texas' offer "wasn't in the ballpark."
↵↵↵"What he got from Detroit, we weren't in the ballpark. We were multiple years off," Daniels said. "When you're looking at Detroit, he got the most money from a very good team. Had that option not been there, might he have considered taking less from us to be in a championship environment? I don't know the answer. I know we liked him, we liked the fit."
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It's certainly fair to wonder what exactly Daniels offered to Fielder. That they were multiple years apart makes me believe that Texas offered no more than a six year contract to Fielder. The average annual value of Fielder's contract is just south of $24 million -- and I'd be willing to bet that Texas was in that ballpark.
↵Still, given they were multiple years off, Fielder certainly made the right decision for himself.
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