Prince Fielder Tigers: Shortsighted Move Won't Bring Detroit a Championship

The Detroit Tigers shocked the baseball world on Tuesday by signing first baseman Prince Fielder to a nine-year, $214 million contract. This move has disaster written all over it and the Tigers will regret making a panic move to try and win now. 

When Victor Martinez went down with a torn ACL, it was obvious that the Tigers were going to make a move to find a designated hitter/first baseman to plug into the lineup. No one could have imagined what general manager Dave Dombrowski had planned. 

This signing all but assures the Tigers another postseason appearance in 2012 and likely the foreseeable future considering how soft the other teams in the American League Central are. However, it does not make them a championship caliber team. 

The pitching rotation after Justin Verlander is questionable, to say the least.

Doug Fister had a nice run after being acquired from Seattle, but he is a back-of-the-rotation starter. Max Scherzer has great stuff, but he has to keep the ball down in the zone more to lower his home run rate. Rick Porcello has the stuff to be a No. 2 starter, though the results haven't been there for him in his first three years because he doesn't miss as many bats as the stuff suggests he should. 

The lineup will get a boost with Fielder hitting behind Cabrera, and Alex Avila still has a little more room to develop as a hitter. After those three, there are a lot of questions. Austin Jackson and his .331 career on-base percentage will still lead off. Jhonny Peralta had a career year in 2011 that he is not likely to duplicate. 

Second base, third base, left field and right field are all areas of weakness for this team heading into 2012. 

Jose Valverde is a powderkeg waiting to explode in the ninth inning. He got lucky more often than not in 2011 and luck runs out in a hurry with relief pitchers. 

Also, you have to factor in what this contract is going to look like in year seven, eight and nine. Fielder is the type of player that is not going to age gracefully. His decline will likely hit a lot sooner than someone in better physical condition. 

Adam Dunn got paid by the Chicago White Sox last season for his ability to hit home runs and take walks. How did that work out for them?

Fielder has some years of elite performance left in him, but for the Tigers to go nine years just to ensure that they got him is bad judgement on their part. 

The headlines are all going to be about how no one is going to be able to stop the dynamic duo of Fielder and Cabrera, but when you dig deeper it is obvious this team is far from perfect and will struggle against teams like New York, Boston, Tampa Bay, Texas and Los Angeles. 

They can beat up on everyone in the Central, but they don't have enough depth or talent to compete with the top teams in the American League. While $214 million can buy you a lot of things, it will not make the Detroit Tigers a championship team. 

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