Prince Fielder to the Toronto Blue Jays Would Make Them an Immediate Powerhouse

Throw away your old 2011 calendar, a new year is upon us.

For the Toronto Blue Jays, it could very well be a new beginning as well. Having not won more than 90 games in a single season since their 1993 World Series season, the Blue Jays have proven themselves to be a consistent 80-win team in the past 18 years.

In fact, they've played 2,735 regular season games since 1993 and have won 1,349 of them, which comes to just below 50 percent.

This all could change by signing Prince Fielder.

Newsday's Kevin Davidoff thinks that the Blue Jays may still have a shot at Fielder. The problem is, the Blue Jays are digging in their heels and are not willing to offer Fielder more than a five-year contract.

I still don't see the issue.

If Toronto wants to compete in the AL East in 2012, adding a big bat like Fielder's to protect Jose Bautista would help them do just that.

In my opinion, the Jays have a fantastic young pitching rotation bolstered by Ricky Romero. The offense, while great in any other division, was lacking last season against the giants in Boston and New York.

Adding Fielder would give the Blue Jays a significant upgrade over Adam Lind at first base. Fielder is a career .282/.390/.540/.929 batter that will produce 35 or more home runs and 100 or more RBI on a consistent basis. Bautista has never known that type of protection. This tandem would rival that of the Manny Ramirez/David Ortiz Boston Red Sox days.

The Blue Jays are still in play for Fielder. They need to sway him—and do it now—or they may just find themselves finishing in fourth place in the AL East once again.