According to a report from ESPNChicago, Dale Sveum says he could give the Cubs a leg up in signing Prince Fielder if the Cubs chose to pursue him. The 27 year-old was the Brewers 1B in 2011 and won’t be in Milwaukee for the 2012 season. The Brewers have already said they will not make an offer to Fielder and are looking at other options.
Sveum had to say this:
“Yeah, if it ever came to [president of baseball operations] Theo [Epstein] and the Ricketts family thinking that that was the right fit and the right time for this organization, I think me being here would definitely help the process,” said Sveum, who was introduced as manager Friday during a news conference at Wrigley Field.”
“Prince and I have a great relationship,” Sveum said. “I love Prince to death. It would be nice to have him at first base because of what he brings to the table every single day.”
“If you can have three or four guys like him on the team, then other guys start to follow,” Sveum said. “You don’t always have the so-called team leader anymore, but when you can get three, four, five guys running out balls hard, playing the game, then the other five or six guys say, ‘Hey, I want to be like them. I don’t want to be the one guy that’s dogging it.’
“That’s why it was nice to have Prince. The other guys knew what would happen if they didn’t run a ball out.”
Sveum was asked if he has talked about Fielder with his new bosses and said…
“We haven’t yet, honest to God,” Sveum said. “We haven’t mentioned it one time. [The media has], but they haven’t.”
Theo Epstein has said don’t expect a big splash in free agency; however, he did say we will be looking at players who have just started their prime or are about to enter their prime. Prince Fielder fits that perfect as he’s just 27 years-old. In 2011, Fielder had a average of .299 with 38 home runs and 120 rbi’s. The one thing Fielder won’t bring to the team is defense and digging balls out of the dirt. He’s not too good at that. That’s one thing we will not be use to in Chicago as we have had 2 good 1B’s over the years in Derrek lee and Carlos Pena. But his offensive numbers will over-ride his defensive numbers.
Prince Fielder’s agent Scott Boras was expected to meet Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer during the GM Meetings. I don’t know if they did or not…I don’t see why they wouldn’t. But we have not heard anything regarding the meeting. Scott Boras is also Carlos Pena’s agent. They were expected to take about both 1B’s.
I wrote up…could Fielder follow Svuem to the North Side in the article where Dale Sveum was officially named new manager. That was just speculation at the time and the news from Sveum proves my thought
Dale Sveum may try to convince the Cubs to sign Fielder, but I don’t think his word will mean much. I expect the Cubs to puruse Fielder if his years come down. It’s reported that he’s looking for a 8 year contract worth more than 200M. I bet the Cubs will try to offer him a 5 year contract at the most. I do not think that will be enough, but you never know.
It’s just interesting to think about and if Sveum can convince the Cubs to sign the big 1B-Prince Fielder.
Other Notes:
*During Dale Sveum’s press conference today… Sveum said all the right answers and sounded like the right/good choice. Mike Maddux, Kerry Wood and Ozzie Guillen all praised Sveum on his new job.
*The Cubs added SS Junior Lake to the 40 man-roster. The 40 man-roster currently stands at 34, but more changes are coming. One will be Wood re-signing with the Cubs and he’ll be added. Also, players will be removed and more players will be added. Especially players who the Cubs want to protect from the Rule V draft.
Yanks Called about Matt Garza
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1 Comment
thats right and because dave sveum worked with prince the most but the cubs are gunna have to fight for him