Chasing Prince

While the?Nationals have long maintained that Adam LaRoche?would reclaim the first-base job in 2012, they?ve always been looked at as potential bidders for Albert Pujols and Prince Fielder anyway. From Ken Rosenthal comes word that the Nationals have indeed engaged in talks with Fielder, but that those talks hit a roadblock today.

Fielder, coming off?a third-place finish?in the NL?MVP balloting,?is believed to be looking for something like $200 million over eight years on the open market. It?s a price the Nationals could conceivably pay for an established franchise player to go along with Stephen Strasburg and Bryce Harper as the faces of the team?s future. Rosenthal, though, suggests that the Nationals may soon move on to Cuban defector Yoenis?Cespedes instead.

Cespedes,?whose price tag figures to eclipse $50 million,?would be an even bigger gamble for the Nationals than for other teams, because the Nats would need him to stay in center and play in between Harper and Jayson Werth?in their 2013 outfield. Many suitors view Cespedes as a better option in right field.

Fielder appears to have only a limited number of suitors at the moment, so the Nationals may be better off lingering in the weeds and seeing if his price tag tumbles a bit. It?d be one thing to pay the portly slugger $25 million per year; it?s going to seven or eight years on such a deal that would make it?terribly risky.

Source: http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/11/28/nationals-pursue-prince-fielder-for-first-base/related

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