A little while back, reports emerged that Detroit Tigers DH Victor Martinez tore his ACL and could miss the entire 2012 season. There was a lot of talk about what the Tigers might need to do to replace him. Most of the talk focused on short-term additions, since Martinez is still under contract in 2013. Little of the talk focused on Prince Fielder. Well, funny thing about Prince Fielder. Jon Heyman:
price [sic] deal is $214M, 9 yrs. #tigers
Nationals. Nationals. Nationals. Rangers. Nationals. Rangers. Nationals. Tigers. In the end, it's the Tigers, as they're replacing Victor Martinez with pretty much the biggest addition possible. This is both the truth and a fat joke.
We'll obviously have plenty more later on. For now, we all once again get to apologize to Scott Boras for ever doubting his ability as the world's foremost superagent. Scott Boras waited until the end of January, and he got Prince Fielder a nine-year contract with a championship-level team. Scott Boras wins. Scott Boras almost always wins. Scott Boras is amazing.
And Prince Fielder is really good. For now.
This is all pending a physical. Several people have confirmed the report.