Fielder for Kinsler rumor - wow

[Moonlight J]

If i'm Cabrera, i would be pissed off. Fielder is a big reason why Miggy saw so many hittable pitches the last two years. He's not going to sniff a triple crown now when he starts getting 200 walks every year.

That being said, maybe Detroit is becoming concerned with the conditioning of the nearly 300 pound Fielder and wanted to sell high(er).

In the 2 seasons before Fielder came to Detroit, Cabrera had a 1038 OPS. In the 2 seasons Fielder was there, Cabrera had a 1037 OPS

[revo]

Long run, this is obviously a win for the Tigers. They shed a bunch of payroll, and they can utilize that free cash to buy guys that will be a lot better than Prince Fielder will be by the end of his contract. Short run, though, I probably favor this a bit more for Texas. Fielder had his worst year of production (by WAR standards) since 2008, and I think he's in for a nice bounceback. There are longterm concerns about him, sure, but he seems much more likely to be a 3.5-4.5 WAR player for the next couple of years while Kinsler appears to be settling in to 2.5-3.5 WAR territory. Give me the upside of Fielder -- for what will be a cheaper sum than Kinsler, $20 million per year to $23 million for Kinsler on the Tigers -- any day of the week, but most especially any day of the week in Arlington Stadium

Still, there's a lot to like in the here and now from Detroit's standpoint as well. The positional flexibility gained is a huge boon to the team, and the likely upgrade in defense from all the (likely) affected positions in this transition is a huge net positive. They're probably going to upgrade their defense at 1st, 2nd, and 3rd, and they may even upgrade Miguel Cabrera's ability to stay healthy, too (which is no small benefit). And they even shed $8 million in payroll for 2014 that they can better utilize for just about anything they want. If they use that money wisely, there's even a chance this deal ends up a major win for them both in the present as well as the future. Now let's see how they spend the money.

Suddenly all those Max Scherzer trade rumors have gone away.......

[Controller Jacobs]

If i'm Cabrera, i would be pissed off. Fielder is a big reason why Miggy saw so many hittable pitches the last two years. He's not going to sniff a triple crown now when he starts getting 200 walks every year.

....

The 2011-2012 seasons would support that (less BB, more RBIs), but in 2013 his BB were back up. I doubt we'll see anything really measurable like we did with Bonds.

VMart + Hunter on the other hand, those guys could see a lot more opportunities as they get closer to the top of the order.
MLBDepthCharts has Hunter hitting 2nd and Jackson hitting 5th, but I'd think the more conventional lineup would be something like:
Ian Kinsler
Austin Jackson
Miguel Cabrera
Victor Martinez
Torii Hunter

[gcstomp]

Nice trade that has a roto feel, this move made sense, and they actually pulled it off. Fielder has plenty left in his tank, and he will be a nice fit in his new team. Win/win for both sides.

[madducks]

In the 2 seasons before Fielder came to Detroit, Cabrera had a 1038 OPS. In the 2 seasons Fielder was there, Cabrera had a 1037 OPS

Cabrera will still hit. I wouldn't be surprised if he wins another batting title. I just think his HR & RBI numbers will drop now because he will be pitched around more often.

[Moonlight J]

Cabrera will still hit. I wouldn't be surprised if he wins another batting title. I just think his HR & RBI numbers will drop now because he will be pitched around more often.

He saw strikes 2 percent more frequently with Fielder behind him.

Now, Stanton is a guy who felt it. He went from 63% strikes seen to 58% last season

[chancellor]

So...do the Rangers still have the money to sign Cruz? A lineup with a 3-4-5 of Beltre-Fielder-NCruz would be pretty darn good.

[onejayhawk]

Set up by Profar and Martin.

J

[Controller Jacobs]

So...do the Rangers still have the money to sign Cruz? A lineup with a 3-4-5 of Beltre-Fielder-NCruz would be pretty darn good.

For the next two years, the switch from Kinsler to Fielder costs them an extra $8M. Then the money from Detroit kicks in.
They save $18M from 2013 with the end of the Berkman and Michael Young contracts.
Andrus starts making real money in 2015.

So I think the money is probably available, but I'd personally dare another team to pay him $100M to be a DH and give me the pick. Sign both Kubel and Ibanez with the savings.