MLB Rumors: Chicago Cubs Must Make Big Splash for Prince Fielder

It's all there for the taking for the Chicago Cubs. The question is, will the new front-office duo of Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer set aside their full-scale rebuilding project and seize the opportunity to win now?

Prince Fielder is sitting on the market, he and agent Scott Boras waiting for a team to blink on offering a contract to match his hefty waistline.

The National League Central is that much weaker now that the Milwaukee Brewers will likely be without Ryan Braun for the first 50 games and the St. Louis Cardinals will be without Albert Pujols for the next 10 years, at the very least. The Cubs are weaker, too, now that Aramis Ramirez is a Brewer, Carlos Pena is a free agent and Alfonso Soriano is a shell of his former self.

If it weren't for the follies of Frank McCourt, Fielder would probably be a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers by now, giving the Blue Crew a big bat to protect woulda-coulda-shoulda-been-MVP Matt Kemp and a big name to combat Fat Albert down in Anaheim.

Meanwhile, the Toronto Blue Jays, Texas Rangers, Washington Nationals and Seattle Mariners are glaring at each other like Blondie, Tuco and Angel Eyes on a hot summer's day, hoping someone will fire off a shot or two so they can duck for some sunscreen without missing out on the big prize.

At this point, the Cubs have nearly every incentive to give in to temptation and make Prince the king of Wrigley Field. With one fell swoop, they'd boost their own squad considerably while dealing a crippling blow to two other teams in their own division.

And it's not like Tom Ricketts, who bought the team for upwards of $900 million, is exactly hurting for money, so long as daddy dearest J. Joseph has his checkbook open. 

So what's standing in the way?

Simple: Theo's rebuilding project. Epstein fled the Boston Red Sox front office in part because he was tired of other bigwigs pushing him to dole out ridiculous contracts to players who ultimately failed. He's not about to be bullied into it again so long as he and Hoyer have free reign to do what they feel is best for the team.

That said, Fielder would give the Cubs a tremendous talent around whom to build a baseball dynasty. He's one of the elite sluggers in all baseball, having racked up 230 home runs through just over six seasons, and won't turn 28 until May.

Not to mention he's never missed significant time with an injury.

Now, Fielder won't exactly put the Lovable Losers over the top—not by a long shot—though he would improve their depleted lineup considerably while giving their fans something to cheer about heading into Year 1 of the Dale Sveum era.

Sveum, mind you, spent six seasons on the Brewers' coaching staff during Prince's time in Milwaukee.

So what's holding Epstein back? Is it ownership's unwillingness to loosen its purse strings? Or is it his reluctance to shell out beaucoup bucks?

Or is it neither of those things, and are Epstein and Hoyer going to sign Fielder anyway?

If they know what's best for the Cubs, they certainly will.

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