Prince Fielder is to 2011 as Adrian Gonzalez was to 2010. Whether or not he gets traded before the deadline is completely dependent on the Milwaukee Brewer’s place in the NL Central standings by July.
Teams like the Milwaukee Brewers usually need to pick and choose who to spend their money on. Like the Padres, did they feel like they would sink into the abyss if they don’t sign Adrian Gonzalez to a large contract?
Or did they feel like it was better for the franchise to trade him for some prospects like they did with Jake Peavy in 2009 and try to replace at least 65 percent of Adrian’s production with cheap signings and shift to a more pitching and defense team with a small-ball oriented lineup?
Prince Fielder had a bit of a down year Pujols-style last year with 32 home runs, 83 RBI and a .261 batting average. Unlike the Padres’ Adrian Gonzalez situation, the Brewers have other power outlets in their lineup other than Prince.
He is just one of five Milwaukee hitters with more than 20 homers and 80 RBI. They locked up one of the five by signing second baseman Ricky Weeks to a five-year $50 million contract just recently. They already have Ryan Braun locked up, and they will have third baseman Casey McGehee for a while.
And to top all that off, they now have a newly assembled young and proven starting rotation to take care of.
Truth of the matter is, the Milwaukee Brewers don’t really need Prince Fielder. They want to have him, they would like to have him, but they don’t need him.
Done right, a Prince Fielder trade in July might actually help the team during it’s playoff push.