Fielder for Kinsler Perspective

Hot stove talk is about a quarter of the fun of baseball.  Primarily because baseball is played spring, summer, and fall, then talked about all winter.

The hot stove got a little kindling last night with the new that the Detroit Tigers traded Prince Fielder to the Texas Rangers for Ian Kinsler.  I am pretty sure a fair number of Tigers fans freaked out when they heard the news.  Since Prince arrived in Motown, Miguel Cabrera became the most feared hitter in baseball, even winning a Triple Crown.

However, the last we saw Fielder, he was freezing at the plate in the World Series and laying on the ground like Curly Howard to kill a Tiger threat in their Game 5 loss.  His production dipped slightly last season, not an unusual occurrence for a player pushing 30, maybe the most troubling was the lowest slugging percentage of his career.  A man bearing the size of Prince Fielder had better hit the ball a long way.

I believe the Tigers are afraid of his weight at this point.  History has not been kind to oversize sluggers in their 30's.  Even Babe Ruth was done by 34 in the world of offseason jobs.  His best days may very well be behind him.

Ian Kinsler has had a drop in his production, but a smaller percentage that Fielder has seen.  A different kind of hitter, at age 31, he has been a strong secondary producer on a playoff team.  He will shore up the middle infield, and possibly provide some guidance for Jose Iglesias.  He is capable of huge seasons, but aren't his best days behind him, too.

Few moves made in baseball today are about the field.  The Tigers have a chance to lock up Max Scherzer and this move may free the money.  The Rangers received $30 million dollars in the deal to help pay the approximately $160 million owed Fielder.  The Tigers may be feeling it is a bad investment.

By the way, when a team makes moves that are about the field, they are considered aggressively pursuing a pennant at all cost.  It is a big change from the old days of baseball.

So...am I off base?