What Prince Fielder Trade Means for Detroit

With rumors swirling around Major League Baseball of a possible Prince Fielder trade, it is no surprise that the All-Star first basemen got traded. It may have been a little shocking, though, that he got traded to the Texas Rangers.

The trade works out well for both teams, but the real winner is the Tigers.

The details of the trade are that the Tigers send Prince and the remainder of his $168 million dollar contract plus $30 million dollars to in cash to Texas in return for second basemen Ian Kinsler and a contract worth $62 million dollars. The Tigers basically saved around $70 million dollars to spend on extensions to players such as back-to-back MVP Miguel Cabrera and CY Young winner Max Scherzer.

The Tigers’ defense will look a little different in 2014 compared to how it looked Opening Day in 2013. Victor Martinez will most likely become the everyday first basemen for Detroit moving forward, Kinsler will be the everyday second basemen, and rookie of the year candidate Jose Iglesias will be the shortstop and most likely rotate with Omar Infante throughout the year.

The batting order will probably take the biggest hit, especially for Miguel Cabrera. When Prince was present for the Tigers, his presence would make pitchers feel less obligated to walk Miguel because they know that they would have to face Prince next in the lineup. Miguel will probably be walked more intentionally in 2014 due to the fact that pitchers would rather take on the man behind him, who will most likely be Martinez. Though Martinez did get hot towards the end of the season, he doesn’t have the power that Prince has. Plus, look for the Tigers to go out and find someone to fill the void at DH if Martinez is moved to first base.

With a starting rotation that will include Scherzer, who will most likely sign an extension with the Tigers, Detroit’s biggest question is their bullpen. They don’t have an established closer or middle reliever for that matter. The Tigers have been looking at pitchers such as Joe Nathan and Brian Wilson. Adding one of these big name pitchers could be something to jump-start the Tigers’ bullpen.

Losing Prince will have an effect on the Tigers this year , but the future looks bright as Detroit looks to get over the hump and accomplish what they have been trying to do for the past several years: win the World Series.