Prince Fielder: Ranking the Milwaukee Slugger's 10 Most Likely Destinations

Milwaukee Brewers All-Star first baseman Prince Fielder recently told TBS that this season is likely his last in Wisconsin.

But if you’re a baseball fan with a pulse you already knew that.

You’d probably rather hear about the 29 other major league teams who, upon hearing the news, went: “OMG OMG OMG, wanna play for us?”

So who is in play for the 27-year-old slugger this offseason? Well from my vantage point many months away, these 10 teams look like the front-runners.

I hope you bought the Benjamins, boys.

The Non-Contenders

I divided the list of teams NOT in the running for Prince Fielder into three categories.

The first group are teams with first basemen under contract that they want to keep. The second group are teams with the poor fortune of sharing in the former (but not the latter).

The third group is a mix bag of teams that either don't have the money to sign Prince Fielder, have up-and-coming players at first base or aren't in the right part of the rebuilding cycle to make a long-term investment in a player.

We’ve already got our guy
Arizona Diamondbacks - Paul Goldschmidt
Atlanta Braves - Freddie Freeman
Cincinnati Reds - Joey Votto
Detroit Tigers- Miguel Cabrera
Kansas City Royals - Eric Hosmer
Philadelphia Phillies - Ryan Howard

Wish we could, but we already promised someone else
Chicago White Sox - Paul Konerko/Adam Dunn
Colorado Rockies - Todd Helton
Minnesota Twins - Justin Morneau
San Francisco Giants - Aubrey Huff/Brandon Belt
Toronto Blue Jays - Adam Lind

You wouldn’t like us anyways
Houston Astros - Bad timing
Milwaukee Brewers - Too poor
Oakland Athletics - Brandon Allen
Pittsburgh Pirates -Bad timing
San Diego Padres - Anthony Rizzo
Seattle Mariners - Justin Smoak

10. Boston Red Sox/New York Yankees

Two teams on one slide? You can’t do that!

I cheated a bit here, but I think you get the point. Neither the Red Sox nor the Yankees have a need at first base, and yet neither can be conclusively removed from contention.

One of these teams (if not both), won’t win the World Series. And whoever doesn’t win will be mad as hell. Fielder would make for a nice rebound signing, and both teams have a potential need at DH to fill.

The Yankees could move super prospect Jesus Montero aside for another year or put him at catcher in order to make room for Fielder, while David Ortiz remains a free agent for the Red Sox.

Both are long shots, but the rap sheet of these big spenders demands that I at least put them on the list.

9. New York Mets/Los Angeles Dodgers

I did it again! I’m bending the rules of slideshow physics!

Don’t worry, I wouldn’t abuse the format without cause. These teams belong together.

In almost every way, the Dodgers and Mets make perfect sense for Prince Fielder. They’re both big market teams with glaring holes at first base and a searing need to rehab their public images.

The problem here is money, and it’s a big problem.

Fielder apparently wants a big payday—like $200 million big—and with both of these once-proud franchises struggling with finances, it’s hard to imagine either fronting that kind of cash.

8. Tampa Bay Rays

The baseball needs here align, I'm just not sure the philosophies of both parties are a match.

The Rays are a good team that could be a lot better with a great first baseman. The young Fielder would make an ideal lineup mate for young core players like Desmond Jennigns and Evan Longoria, and adding Prince would give this team a legitimate shot at another AL East title.

The Rays under current GM Andrew Friedman just aren’t known for giving out big free agent contracts. The days of Greg Vaughn and Jose Canseco are over in Tampa, replaced by shrewed fiscals and heady baseball analysis.

With Fielder, abetted by agent Scott Boras, seemingly trying to squeeze every last cent out of this deal, Tampa Bay seems like an unlikely landing spot.

There is some talk that Friedman would move back to his hometown Houston to take over the Astros or jump ship for the big market Chicago Cubs. If Friedman does waltz out of Tampa Bay and a new GM wants to make his mark with a big signing, the calculus of this equation changes quite a bit.

7. St. Louis Cardinals

Re-signing perennial MVP candidate Albert Pujols is the priority in St. Louis, but Prince Fielder makes sense as a solid Plan “B.”

I think the Cardinals will more likely use the threat of Fielder as leverage against Pujols in negotiations, but if the two parties can’t agree they’ll make a hard run at Fielder to try and save their 2012.

With Adam Wainwright coming off the disabled list and Matt Holiday still a productive player the Cardinals will have every intention of contending next year. They’ll try and make sure they get on of the two All-Star first basemen.

6. Florida (Miami) Marlins

New stadium, new name, new spending habits.

Remember when the tight-fisted Philadelphia Phillies splurged on Jim Thome in 2003 to create momentum around the opening of their sparkling new ballpark in 2004?

Well, the Miami Marlins (that’ll be their name next year) could be the Phillies of 2012, and Prince Fielder could be their Jim Thome.

Management always seems to think this team is ready to contend (note that they didn’t deal at the trade deadline) and the opening of a new stadium will only intensify that sentiment. If the Marlins choose not to re-sign the solid-but-unspectacular Gaby Sanchez, ownership might take a hard look at this offseason’s biggest fish.

5. Texas Rangers

According to leading baseball scribe Jonah Keri, the Rangers are richer than you think.

Long trapped in little-guy mindset despite playing in a huge metro area, the Rangers’ recent television mega-deal with Fox Sports Southwest cements their status as a big-money team with long-term aspirations.

Combine that new cash inflow with a contending mindset and a patchwork situation at first base, and Prince Fielder looks like a really nice fit.

In their pursuit of Cliff Lee this offseason, the Rangers proved they’ve finally overcome the trauma of the Alex Rodriguez disaster and are willing to chance another big contract. Prince Fielder seems like a good place to start.

4. Los Angeles Angels

Something tells me the Angels are still smarting from their swing-and-miss attempt at Carl Crawford this past offseason and want to atone for a rare bit of frugality. Prince Fielder affords them that chance in a big, pricey way.

Now that provides the Angels with plenty of motivation, but do the pieces fit?

Rookie Mark Trumbo is having a nice year for the Halos at first base and Los Angeles still has the option of re-signing key contributor Kendrys Morales for much less money when he finally recovers from injury.

But the Angels and owner Arte Moreno tend to throw logic to the wind in the offseason. How else can you explain their trade for an aging Vernon Wells?

Never count the Angels and their mountain of L.A. cash out of the running.

3. Washington Nationals

The Washington Nationals provide a perfect fit for Prince Fielder. They’re a young, improving squad that already showed a willingness to spend money when they blew a wad on outfielder Jayson Werth last offseason.

Ace Stephen Strasburg returns next year and super-prospect Bryce Harper may join the party soon. The Nationals have long-term solutions at catcher (Wilson Ramos), third base (Ryan Zimmerman), second base (Danny Espinosa), right field (Werth), left field (Michael Morse) and possibly short stop (Ian Desmond).

First base remains one of the few question marks for the future, and Fielder fits that hole with a flourish.

Only problem is the Nationals already said they won’t pursue Fielder for 2012.

Hey, I don’t get it either. Maybe time will convince them otherwise, but as of now, I can’t put them higher on the list based on that declaration alone.

2. Chicago Cubs

The dismissal of big-spending general manager Jim Hendry changes the equation a bit, but let’s face facts: these are still the Cubs. Talk about new ownership reining in the purse strings will ring hollow until the Cubs actually show they’re committed to rebuilding.

So far that hasn’t been the case, and if these really are the same old Cubs, they’ll aggressively court Albert Pujols and Prince Fielder this offseason.

I fully expect the Cubs to either land or be among the final two for at least one of the premier free agents. With Carlos Pena on his way out the door, I don’t see the Cubs waiving the white flag and telling the fanbase to wait on a reclamation project.

Now I’m not so sure the Cubs are really ready to contend either way, but I do think the franchise is delusional enough to think Prince Fielder puts them over the top.

1. Baltimore Orioles

Baltimore is ready to spend, that much is clear. They signed veterans Vladimir Guerrero and Derrek Lee as one-year placeholders to make way for a run at a player like Prince Fielder. Their moment arrives this offseason.

Unlike the Yankees’ pursuit of Cliff Lee last year, a situation where money was secondary, this year’s Prince Fielder sweepstakes looks like a race to the top of cash mountain. The Orioles have had Fielder in their sites for over a year now, and they look like the one team willing to give whatever it takes to get their man.

The Orioles are the one team with a true need at first base and the sort of unencumbered financial flexibility to make room for Fielder’s contract demands.

I think I just heard Scott Boras lick his lips.