MLB Rumors: St. Louis Cardinals Must Sign Prince Fielder to Remain in Contention

After appearing to be the favorite to re-sign first baseman Albert Pujols, the St. Louis Cardinals were spurned when he decided to sign with the Los Angeles Angels instead. In order to ease the pain of that loss, though, the Cards ought to make a run at first baseman Prince Fielder.

According to Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the Cardinals may be delaying making a move on Carlos Beltran in order to see things play out with Fielder. The hefty former Milwaukee Brewer figured to be right behind Pujols in terms of free agent interest, but he has been unable to strike a deal yet.

Fielder may not be as complete of a player as Pujols, but he had a monster 2011 season with a .299 batting average and 38 home runs. Without Pujols the Cardinals have a major void in the middle of their lineup. Both Lance Berkman and Matt Holliday will try to fill it, but they aren't exactly the types of players that can anchor a lineup at this point.

While Fielder will never be as good of a player as Pujols in terms of getting on base, he is a feared power hitter with many more prime years remaining than Pujols. Because of that, the Cardinals could sign him, make him the No. 3 or No. 4 hitter and not have to worry about it again for several years.

Clearly the Cardinals are willing to spend a bit since they were in on Pujols until the end, so they might as well but that money toward a younger and nearly-as-talented first baseman in Fielder. Without that feared middle-of-the-order hitter, I simply cannot see the Cardinals repeating what they did this past season.

The pitching staff will get a major boost when Adam Wainwright returns from Tommy John surgery, but why not supplement that with a big offensive acquisition as well? There's no telling how close Wainwright will be to his previous form when he returns, so it's dangerous to count on him as an impact player.

In signing Fielder, the Cardinals pretty much know what they're going to get. They can put him in the middle of the order, expect around 35 home runs and over 100 RBI, and expect him to play pretty much every day as he never gets injured, unlike Pujols in recent years.

The investment would likely be a hefty one, but in terms of safety, I'm not sure there is a safer signing to make than Fielder. He's no Pujols, but I have no doubt that Cardinal fans will warm up to him very quickly, particularly if he continues to produce the way he is capable of.

Fielder will eventually end up somewhere, and whichever team gets him will be very happy with the bang for their buck. The Cardinals have seen what he can do first hand, and they have to be impressed. If St. Louis is serious about winning back-to-back titles, then going after Fielder is a no-brainer.