For all of the talk about the Dodgers not having pennies to put in their loafers, they've actually been one of the more active teams this offseason, signing several players to multi-year deals. And according to Jon Heyman, they wanted to make an even bigger splash:

The Dodgers were a surprise entrant in the sweepstakes, making a major push to sign the star slugger with an offer that guaranteed him seven years but provided a sweet four-year opt-out. And for a couple weeks, they looked like a real possibility for Prince.

The deal reportedly would have been for a $26 million annual salary for the first four years, with an opt-out clause after the fourth year that would have allowed Fielder to seek his fortune anew.

A seven-year deal with an opt-out clause is probably something closer to what was expected when the offseason started, and it looks like the Dodgers made a serious run at Fielder before the Tigers flipped on the ol' spit-take generator.

Also of note: You rarely heard about the Dodgers' involvement while it was happening. This is why the mystery team will destroy us all, people.