This winter (no, still autumn) offseason season is early and based on the tone of the reports, it is unlikely that either Prince Fielder or Albert Pujols signs a new contract anytime soon. However, there appears to be less overlap between the team suitors than I thought would surface. Albert Pujols has been linked almost exclusively to the Cardinals, Cubs and Marlins while Fielder has been connected more with the Brewers and several AL squads. The Mariners are rumored to be included in that group of AL teams and I wanted to dissect the tweet that set it off.
@SI_JonHeyman
Jon Heyman#mariners are hoping to be in on prince (but not pujols). Unsure if there's room in budget tho. But will give it a run.
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Specifically, I'm curious about the team being in on Prince Fielder but not Albert Pujols. A week ago, Jayson Stark surveyed some supposedly impartial club executives on their belief of the contracts the two sluggers would end up with. The consensus came in roughly around this:
Pujols: 8/225 + 1/25 option
Fielder: 7/155
I do not accept such anonymous guesses as gospel, but in this case they match my own gut feelings and, more importantly, they are matching the behavior of the two parties. Albert Pujols is rumored to already have a couple offers in hand in the 8/200 to 9/225 range, but is shooting for more. Meanwhile most of of the waves being made concerning Fielder are coming from Scott Boras and are in the 8/200 territory, suggesting that, barring a repeat of Alex Rodriguez and Texas in 2000, Fielder will eventually settle for less.
So, assuming the figures above are what it cost to bring either player to the Seattle Mariners, how would you feel? Obviously affording Prince Fielder is already a stretch for the team's budget so stepping up to Albert Pujols is even tougher, but would you feel him worth it?