Chicago Cubs: Are Albert Pujols or Prince Fielder the Way to Legitimacy in 2012?

The Chicago Cubs are saddled with two of the game's worst contracts in Alfonso Soriano ($19 million) and Carlos Zambrano ($18.8 million). In fact, the top five salaries on the team have rendered very mediocre combined statistics. Three hitters (Soriano, Aramis Ramirez and Kosuke Fukudome) have produced a batting average of .271 with a .332 OBP. They also average just 15 HR, 49 RBI and 1 SB.

The pitchers have been equally as run of the mill. Two pitchers (Carlos Zambrano and Ryan Dempster) have an average W-L record of 10-8, 14 quality starts, 150 IP and an ERA of 4.71. If you have over $80 million invested into players who are only producing at that level, you aren't likely to have a good season.

So, what can be done in 2012 to make the Cubs the contenders they should be every year? There has been quite a bit of speculation about the prospects of bringing Albert Pujols or Prince Fielder to Wrigleyville.

The mere thought of it should bring a smile to any Cubs fan's face. Adding each player has its own pros and cons. Fielder would likely be the best power hitting left-hander in franchise history, at least since Billy Williams. He is only 27 and his 162-game average of .282, 37 HR and 105 RBI is exactly the type of production you'd expect from someone who will be paid as handsomely as the Prince will be.

Then there is the "Machine", the greatest right-handed hitter I've seen in 30 years of baseball. Albert Pujols would be an even bigger attraction on the North Side than Fielder. Can you imagine what the Cubs-Cardinals rivalry will be like if Pujols switches sides?

Many will say Pujols is on his way down because of the human .287 batting average and the injury he sustained this year, but Albert is still leading the league in home runs with 30. That total is in only 110 games and he already has 76 RBI.

Do the Cubs need to add one of them to be taken serious? My answer is yes. With the Wrigley faithful getting more and more critical it is important for the Ricketts family to let fans and free agents know how serious they are about winning.

It is not a bad idea to rebuild with a youth movement and the homegrown talent the Cubs seem to be stockpiling in the minors. For this reason, the Cubs should go hard after Fielder. With the young slugger only 27 years of age it doesn't drastically contrast with the youth movement. It also supplies the Cubs with the name and star needed for legitimacy.

It is time for the Cubs to build a team, a real team, equipped with table-setters and run producers. The first and primary run producer added to the new nucleus should be Prince Fielder, at whatever cost.