On Thursday the first major trade of the Major League Baseball offseason went down between the Detroit Tigers and the Texas Rangers, with the Lone Star state receiving Prince Fielder and $30 million of his contract in exchange for second base All-Star Ian Kinsler. Fielder had two fairly productive seasons in the Motor City batting a combined .295 with 55 home runs and 214 RBI during the regular season with two All-Star Game appearances; however, his playoff numbers were not exactly reflective of his $23 million salary per season as he managed to only hit .101 with one home run and three RBI in 24 games including the 2012 World Series.
Kinsler on the other hand had a bounce back season in 2013 as he got his average up from .256 in 2012 to .277 while managing to equal his RBI total of 72, but hit six less home runs (13). While it’s obvious on every aspect of their game that these two athletes are different players all around, there is still one question left to be answered: who got the better end of the deal?
The answer is way more complex than most may think, and it must be broken down into different categories. The easiest to start with is the money. Needing someone who could hit for power, bring in runs and provide a solid glove at first base, the Tigers singed Fielder shortly after first baseman/catcher/designated hitter Victor Martinez tore his ACL during the offseason prior to Spring Training in 2012 to a nine-year $214 million deal.
As for the Rangers, back in 2008 they signed Kinsler to a five-year $22 million extension which they then renewed in 2012 to the tune of an additional five years at $70 million. That goes through the end of the 2017 season with a club option of $12 million in 2018.
Just to bring things up to speed, the Rangers will now owe Fielder $138 million over the next seven seasons while the Tigers will owe Kinsler $57 million over four years plus.
As well as the $30 million they owe to the Rangers for a total of $87 million.
After the math, the deal essentially saved the Tigers $51 million which is way more than enough to help the team sign any number of free agents or stock pile it when Miguel Cabrera’s current contract expires at the end of the 2015 season. This point goes to the Tigers.
Onto necessity. The Rangers have a lot of holes that they need to fix and General Manager Jon Daniels is needs to come to a decision on whether or not they’ll re-sign free agent Nelson Cruz to maintain the right field slot. If not, they’re really in the dog house. Getting rid of Kinsler and adding Fielder did, in theory, help out significantly as the team can now put Fielder at first base, keep Jurickson Profar at second base and move Mitch Moreland back into the outfield as the Rangers have no interest in bringing back Lance Berkman for another season.
The biggest problem with this is that the Tampa Bay Rays are in serious need of a new first baseman and Moreland is very high on their radar. With the loss of left fielder David Murphy to the Cleveland Indians, the Rangers will be without three of their 2013 outfield options: Cruz, Moreland and Murphy. Even though they now have Fielder on board, the cost of him on top of the team still needing to decide whether they will re-sign A.J. Pierzynski as well makes everything look rather nightmarish for Daniels.
As or the Tigers, they needed a second baseman with the loss of Omar Infante to free agency.
Granted, Infante did have a terrific 2013 as he hit .318 with 10 home runs and 51 RBI in 118 games at the cost of only $4 million, but Kinsler provides more stability and power at the plate at a much higher spot in the batting order.
Plus, Kinsler has an equally durable glove yet more powerful arm.
With the loss of Fielder the Tigers have the option of moving Cabrera back to first and bring up prospect Nick Castellanos to play third, or keep Cabrera at third and have Martinez play first, or do the first plan but alternate Cabrera and Martinez at designated hitter and first base.
In the short run, the Tigers only need a closer and a backup catcher for 2014 to be a complete team. After that, right fielder Torii Hunter, Martinez and pitcher Max Scherzer will be a free agents which will definitely cause the Tigers to get back into business mode. So for now, the Tigers win again based on the for sure year they’ll get in 2014 with a reliable (on paper) squad.
Finally, production. Fielder has played for an additional year over Kinsler and has also had the luxury of playing in both the National League and the American League. In his nine seasons Fielder has a career .286 average, 285 home runs, 870 RBI, has made five All-Star appearances and has finished in the top-10 for MVP voting four times in his career.
But the most important stat of all dates back to 2006, Fielder’s first full season in the Majors when he played in 157 games, 152 of them as the Milwaukee Brewers’ first baseman. That season he didn’t play in five games. In the seven years since then he has missed only eight games. As for Kinsler, in the eight seasons he played, all with the Rangers, he has a .273 batting average, 156 home runs, 539 RBI, three All-Star appearances, three top-20 MVP finishes (none in the top-10) and he’s only played in 1,066 total games, which equals 230 games missed.
One thing that Kinsler does have going for him is his numbers in the playoffs. In 34 games including two World Series trips he’s hitting .311 with four home runs and 20 RBI. While Fielder obviously doesn’t “look” as fit as Kinsler, you can’t bet against a guy who averages missing less than two games per season, almost 100 RBI and roughly 31 home runs. Point to the Rangers.
There are definitely a few more components that can be broken down, but on the surface these are the only things that truly matter. The Tigers come away the victors for at least the next two seasons, what happens after that is entirely in the hands of General Manager Dave Dombrowski and how the Rangers finish the 2014 season. Based on the history, if the Rangers don’t make the playoffs, Daniels might be in need of a new job.