What is the ultimate number that Fielder gets in a Contract?

[Diggr14]

The Brewers have some decisions to make.. and one of the options is do they re-approach Scott Boras to get a deal done with Prince. I am not for this option, because I believe it is potentially very risky.

 

However, If the Brewers do decide that it makes best business sense/baseball sense to do based on the offers they get for him.

 

 

What is the ultimate number?

 

 

7 years / 150 Million - a little short of Texeira Money, not much on a per year average. Last season has a 4M buyout.

 

 

It looks like the brewers have substantial payroll coming off the books and with their failures in the free agency market (especially with soft tossing 32+ y/o) would you be upset with this as an option.

[jimmyjeromehardy7]

I would say 6 years and 132 Million

[PrinceEatMeat]

7 years $175 Million

[trwi7]

It looks like the brewers have substantial payroll coming off the books and with their failures in the free agency market (especially with soft tossing 32+ y/o) would you be upset with this as an option.

7/150 sounds about right to me and yes, I would be upset if we gave him that contract.

 

 

[davego]

If Prince gets 6+ years and anything over that $135-million, I'll be the first to wish him luck and hope the best for him...elsewhere.

[igor67]

I like Fielder, I do think he is a great talent. However I would find it hard as a GM to invest overmuch in Fielder stock, with such a cheaper comparable model available in Dunn. Also given the trend we've seen in slugging low defense OFs I wonder. Seven years does sound like too many, given all the body type questions (valid or not). I'll bite and guess someone agrees to go 6 years and over 20 million per. I like davego's figure 6 for 135 million which includes buying out a 7th year for a few million.

[endaround]

Dunn could easily collapse next year, Fielder its much less likely. Dunn has the classic old player skills.

[rotoherb]

Dunn will be 31 at the start of next season while Fielder will still be 26. 4.5 years is a big difference in age. Would you rather be paying for Dunn at 34 or Fielder at 29?

 

The fact that Fielder doesn't turn 27 until next May is going to go a long way in getting him the contract that he wants.

[TooLiveBrew]

Dunn could easily collapse next year, Fielder its much less likely. Dunn has the classic old player skills.

Easily? Come on. He's been one of the most consistent hitters in baseball for the past decade. And there's a reason they're called "old player" skills -- they're what old guys still have left once speed & athleticism have gone. I would much rather sign Adam Dunn to a 3 or 4 year deal than the 6 or 7 years & insane dollars Prince is going to get.

EDIT: Jim Thome's a decent comparison for Dunn, even though Thome's peak was definitely higher than Dunn's. Neither one ever realistically had more than "old player" skills, and Thome was able to sustain his production at a peak level through his age 34 season, and even replicate it in his age-36 season. His age-36 season is made even more impressive given that he lost 83 games in '05 to an elbow injury.

[Invader3K]

Yeah, I agree with TLB. Dunn is one of the most underrated players in the game, to the point where it's gotten ridiculous. You can basically count on him to hit 40 homers, drive in 100+ RBIs, draw a ton of walks, and strike out a lot. Not really seeing the signs of a decline coming up.

[TooLiveBrew]

Since Fielder is a better contact hitter, he might wind up being a more valuable hitter than Dunn over the next 4 seasons. But not $20-30M or so more valuable.

[dadofandrew]

He's as good as Howard and younger, so I'd say 5/126 or 6/151.

[Teatoe993]

5/100 Front Loaded 30, 25, 20, 15, 10 with a player option for year 6 at 17 mil.

 

One can dream.

[JohnBriggs12]

He's as good as Howard and younger, so I'd say 5/126 or 6/151.

 

He's younger but he's not as consistent a run producer as Howard. He won't get anywhere near what Boras thinks he will. More like 6 years, $135 million.

[Invader3K]

As far as Prince, I think he will get a bit more than Howard (simply because he's younger), but nowhere close to Mauer/Teixeira money. I think Briggs is probably close.

[Oldcity]

If Boras manages to make Howard the benchmark, Prince will get more. He's both younger and better than Howard. The Phillies gave him just an awful contract.

[Eddiehitsthefoulpole]

Prince will get 8 years at about 180 million, with the money front-loaded and Prince will get an escape clause after 5 or 6 years.

[JohnBriggs12]

If Boras manages to make Howard the benchmark, Prince will get more. He's both younger and better than Howard. The Phillies gave him just an awful contract.

Sorry, but the numbers say Howard is better.

 

Since both became everyday players in 2006, Howard has out-homered Prince 220-182, has more RBI, 647-489, more total bases, 1480 to 1383, more runs scored 573-440, and a higher slugging percentage, .545 to .517.

 

While it can be pointed out Prince gets on at a slightly better clip, teams pay for the run production.

[endaround]

If we compare Howard's prime to Fielder pre-prime they are even. Now Fielder is about to enter his prime while Howard is leaving his and Fielder has been the better player last season and this season.

[RyDogg66]

5 years 135 million by the Tigers.

[AJAY]

5 years, 115 million

[brains and braun]

I agree with end. Fielder should be better over the life of his contract than Howard is for his. I like that in Fielder's "down year" he is still OPSing over .900. Toss out the RBIs...I don't think you can downplay the significance of a slugger's ability to reach base. Even when Prince was going bad, he was still getting on base almost 40% of the time. When a guy like that is on, he can OPS over 1, and how many players like that are there in the game?

[logan82]

I agree with end. Fielder should be better over the life of his contract than Howard is for his. I like that in Fielder's "down year" he is still OPSing over .900. Toss out the RBIs...I don't think you can downplay the significance of a slugger's ability to reach base. Even when Prince was going bad, he was still getting on base almost 40% of the time. When a guy like that is on, he can OPS over 1, and how many players like that are there in the game?

Still doesn't mean we should pay him. The players we acquire for Fielder plus the money saved are more valuable than paying Fielder. We can't pay him, nor should we, and we are not going to be competitive by the end of 2011.

 

He will probably get something similar to Howard. Howard's contract is 5 years $125M. It is an extension of his current contract. Basically his current contract amounts to 7 years $164M plus $10M buyout and maybe some incentives. 5 years $125M is my guess.

[brains and braun]

Never said that. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

[JohnBriggs12]

I agree with end. Fielder should be better over the life of his contract than Howard is for his. I like that in Fielder's "down year" he is still OPSing over .900. Toss out the RBIs...I don't think you can downplay the significance of a slugger's ability to reach base. Even when Prince was going bad, he was still getting on base almost 40% of the time. When a guy like that is on, he can OPS over 1, and how many players like that are there in the game?

Patience at the plate for a slugger is certainly an asset, but he's paid to drive in runs when the opportunity presents itself.. Fielder is hitting .178 this year with RISP. Howard is hitting .288. Granted Fielder is taking quite a few walks in those situations, but that's less helpful than hits in that situation and many times its the preferred outcome for opponents.

 

No doubt Fielder has the added burden of seeing lefties almost exclusively late in games especially with men on, but so does Howard, so that's why it's fair to compare their numbers.

 

Bottom line is you can't "toss out the RBI's". I know it's an "old time stat" but runners rarely score without a batter knocking them in, and the object on offense is to score, not see how many guys you can get on base.