MLB Free Agents 2012: 8 Potential Landing Spots for Prince Fielder

The biggest domino in the 2012 MLB Free Agency season has fallen. Albert Pujols has signed a 10 year, $254 million contract with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and that opens the door for something bigger.

Prince Fielder now becomes the most coveted man on the free agent market. Fielder is a lineup's dream, as teams who lost out on Pujols will now start knocking on the big guy's door.

One thing we do know about Fielder is that he will not be returning to the Milwaukee Brewers. ESPN's Buster Olney tweeted on Monday that the Brewers had moved on from trying to re-sign Fielder and that they were looking at other options.

With that, let the games begin for the biggest prize in the free agent market.

Miami Marlins

The obvious suitor for Fielder's services will be the Miami Marlins. While the Marlins missed out on Albert Pujols and C.J. Wilson, they were able to sign Jose Reyes, Heath Bell and Mark Buehrle for just about $170 million dollars. It's safe to say the Marlins aren't playing around.

As a team unable to land Pujols, the Marlins may be better off getting Fielder instead. Fielder, 27, is younger than Pujols, 32 (in January), and could provide pop in the middle of the Marlins lineup for years to come.

While the Marlins were dreaming of Albert Pujols hitting in front of Mike Stanton, they get the same effect with Fielder. In Fielder's best seasons, he has hit around 40 home runs and in 2007, he hit 50. Pair that with Stanton's potential to hit 40-50 home runs in a season, and the Marlins may have something.

The other thing to take into consideration is that the Marlins will not be keeping all of these free agents four or five years down the road. It's expected that the Marlins will have a fire sale similar to the ones following the franchise's two World Series championships.

If the Marlins are planning on taking that route, Fielder would not only be helping the Marlins now, but the return could help Miami in the future as well.

St. Louis Cardinals

There's a gaping hole at first base in St. Louis, so could the Cardinals try and court Prince?

I say not. The Cardinals already had a backup plan in place in case of a Pujols departure. That plan involves Lance Berkman moving back to first base, and Allen Craig cracking the starting lineup.

The wild card of this equation is Craig. Craig was one of the front runners for World Series MVP last October as he recorded four go-ahead hits to help the Cardinals beat the Texas Rangers.

St. Louis hitting coach Mark McGwire has also raved about Craig's offensive potential as well. Last season, Craig hit 11 home runs in just 200 at bats. He also has a track record of power in the minor leagues, hitting over 20 bombs three times in six minor league seasons.

Since the Cardinals see the potential here, they probably won't go after Fielder.

Texas Rangers

The Texas Rangers are a desperate team. They've come up just short twice in their quest for a World Series championship, and Fielder may be the missing piece to their puzzle.

By adding Fielder, the Rangers could form one of the most dangerous lineups in all of baseball. They would be able to sandwich Fielder with 2010 American League Most Valuable Player Josh Hamilton and 2011 ALCS MVP Nelson Cruz, making them incredibly tough to pitch to.

The Rangers will also be looking for an upgrade over Mitch Moreland. While he is adaquate, the Rangers want more than a .259 average with 16 home runs and 51 runs batted in line from their first baseman. Fielder would be an instant upgrade.

The Rangers also play in the American League which would enable Fielder to be the designated hitter as the back end of his contract winds down. This would give the Rangers more flexibility in their lineup.

With C.J. Wilson headed to Anaheim, the Rangers may have enough money to lure Fielder to a ballpark where he could possibly hit 60 home runs.

Chicago Cubs

Theo Epstein wants to make a splash with the Chicago Cubs. The Cubs have an opening at first base for Prince Fielder. They also have an owner, Tom Ricketts, willing to spend a lot of money to help improve the team. Yeah, Prince Fielder would make sense in Chicago.

A move to the Windy City would mean that Fielder would tackle the Curse of the Billy Goat. The Cubs haven't won a World Series in 100 years and may be even more desperate than the team in the previous slide.

Fielder would be a perfect fit in Chicago. Not only would he be playing in one of the most hitter friendly stadiums in baseball (Can you imagine what would happen with the wind blowing out?), but he'll have company as the Cubs hired Dale Sveum to be their new manager.

Sveum was the third base coach for the Milwaukee Brewers, and perhaps Fielder liked playing for him. We've seen that story play out with Mark Buehrle going to the Miami Marlins to play for Ozzie Guillen, so why not?

If Epstein can land Fielder, the Cubs may have a cornerstone to build with.

Toronto Blue Jays

The Blue Jays need to find ways to keep up with the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox in the tough AL East. Their current blueprint involves hitting the ball as hard as they can and trying to outscore opponents. Hi, Prince!

The Blue Jays could boast two 50 home run players in the same lineup if Fielder decides to head North of the border. A Canadian "Bash Brothers" bond could form between Fielder and Jose Bautista and that would mean all sorts of problems for opposing pitchers.

Even outside of Bautista and Fielder, the Blue Jays have plenty of ammunition. Adam Lind hit 26 home runs last year. J.P. Arencibia hit 23 home runs. Even their top prospect Brett Lawrie is projected to be a power hitter in the majors. This team would be loaded.

I'm not thinking about logical baseball strategy here; I'm just saying this team would simply be fun to watch if the Blue Jays want to show Prince the money.

San Francisco Giants

Outside of winning a pair of Cy Youngs, it really has to be tough to be Tim Lincecum. Think about it: Lincecum goes out, gives up two runs, strikes out 10 over seven innings and is on the hook for the loss? That's a usual day at the office for Tim Lincecum.

That's why the Giants need to give him some help. No disrespect to Cody Ross, but when Carlos Beltran is your best offensive option, your team has a problem scoring runs. The Giants need weapons.

Even if he's hitting in a pitchers park, Fielder could start sending runs across home plate in San Fran. Fielder's 38 home runs in 2011 would have crushed Pablo Sandoval's team-leading 23 last season, and it would give the Giants an offensive weapon not seen at AT&T Park since Barry Bonds.

This is a move the San Francisco Giants almost need to make.

Washington Nationals

The Washington Nationals have their nucleus and are looking for one last piece to the puzzle. Could Prince Fielder be it?

The Nationals are loaded with young talent. The No. 1 overall pick in the 2010 MLB Draft, Bryce Harper, will have a chance to make the team in spring training. The Nationals also have Wilson Ramos, Ian Desmond and a returning Stephen Strasburg in 2012.

It was reported by Ken Rosenthal that the Nationals were in contract discussions with Fielder early in the week, but that they had also broken down since then. The Nationals are in an interesting situation as Michael Morse emerged last year to put up a .303/31/95 line.

With a Fielder signing, they could move Morse to the outfield and possibly move the ineffective Jayson Werth to the bench. For a young team needing a few more pieces, Fielder makes sense.

Seattle Mariners

If the Seattle Mariners are gun shy in this situation, I might have an idea why. The Mariners committed $50 million on another power hitting first baseman in 2005 named Richie Sexson.

While Sexson held his end of the bill better than fellow free agent signee Adrian Beltre, Sexson never lived up to the hype in Seattle. A shoulder injury that he had suffered in 2004 kept nagging him and eventually Sexson was sent packing.

Sexson has a very similar track record to Fielder, minus the injuries. While the Mariners can't help but be reminded of this blunder, Prince Fielder is not Richie Sexson. Therefore, it's not a bad idea for the Mariners to take a shot.