This may be hard for Washington Nationals fans to take, but the team is better off having lost out on Prince Fielder. That mass of humanity would have proved to be dead weight at first base for a franchise that somehow, despite years of dysfunction, has managed to rehab itself into a team with a bright future.
Fielder and his nine-year, $214 million contract — the deal the Detroit Tigers gave the 27-year-old slugger — could have ruined that.
Make no mistake about it: A stud who hit 38 home runs and drove in 120 runs last year generally will make any team better.
But the value of his run production diminishes in the post-steroid era of defense. With each 5,000-calorie vegetarian meal Fielder has, he covers a little less ground at first base and offers a little less protection for the star-laden pitching staff the Nationals believe they are putting together.
Believe me, I reside in Fielder’s gravity neighborhood, and I don’t cover the ground I used to.
Sure, it would have been exciting to have Fielder in a Nationals uniform alongside the team’s two star prospects, Stephen Strasburg and Bryce Harper. But it also would have limited the Nats’ options.
If Fielder were locked in at first base for the next six to nine years, he would have compromised the rest of the infield. That would have cost the Nats’ young stud pitchers runs.
And if Fielder were anchored at first, then your third baseman with the throwing problems would have been stuck at third, watching Jayson Werth or Wilson Ramos run down throws Fielder couldn’t handle.
That is, providing Ryan Zimmerman is with the Nationals for the next six to nine years.
For some reason, there seems to be a sense of urgency to get an extension with Zimmerman done soon, even though he remains under contract for two more years. Reports are those talks are taking place, and it is hard to believe those discussions do not include a move by Zimmerman to first base at some point.
That switch would give the Nationals a young, fast, slick infield of Zimmerman, Danny Espinosa at second, Ian Desmond at shortstop and Anthony Rendon, the No. 6 pick in the 2011 draft, at third. Rendon was the best hitter in college baseball in 2010.
Even if you don’t move Zimmerman to first, you still have the option of playing Michael Morse there, although I remain convinced he will be traded while his “beast mode” is at its peak.
If Fielder were at first, Werth would be in right field and Harper in left and you would have to trade Morse. There would be no home for him. And even though Werth may play some center field this season, it is not a permanent solution. He is not a center fielder, and again, you don’t want to compromise defense up the middle if you are relying on quality pitching to win.
Washington is the home of democracy. There is no room for a Prince here.
Examiner columnist Thom Loverro is the co-host of “The Sports Fix” from noon to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday on ESPN980 and espn980.com. Contact him at [email protected].
