Prince Fielder: Nationals Losing Interest in Slugger Due to Steep Price Tag

Bill Ladson of MLB.com is reporting that the Washington Nationals are out of the race for Prince Fielder, saying that there is a "99 percent chance" that they won't sign him. 

According to Ladson, Fielder and his agent Scott Boras are looking for a contract that's at least close to the 10-year, $240 million deal that the Los Angeles Angels signed Albert Pujols with. The Nationals are not willing to go that high.

The Nationals will be fine. Obviously, Fielder would beef the lineup up more, but that's a lot of money that they can now spend elsewhere on multiple players, rather than just one.

The Philadelphia Phillies are still the class of the division, but are getting older. The Nationals are more than equipped to at least contend for a wild card spot.

They still have the powerful Adam LaRoche, as well as Mike Morse and Chris Marrero to man the first base position. 

As far as Fielder is concerned, this eliminates a nice option. Big-market teams such as the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox and Angels are already set at first base. Other teams will have a problem signing him and still maintaining a competent roster of talent around him. 

Jerry Cransik has said that the talks of Fielder landing in Seattle are overblown. 

The Chicago Cubs recently acquired Anthony Rizzo. Logically, they won't be giving Fielder that kind of money.

Fielder will certainly have a team by Spring Training and he will get paid. But if he's expecting the kind of money that Pujols got, it's looking far less likely. A shrinking market that includes teams making public statements like the Nationals did doesn't bode well for negotiations. 

The comeback to that is if Fielder's tag does come down, it potentially opens up a lot of other teams. A subsequent war there would only drive his tag back up. 

But with the Nationals dropping out of the race, his chances of getting paid a lot of money on a contending team are dwindling in a big way.

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