A few days ago, the Orioles signed Derrek Lee to a 1 year contract. People wondered why the Birds would get Lee on a one year deal, instead of signing Adam LaRoche to a 2 or 3 year deal. Then, speculation came up that it may very well be because the Orioles have plans to make a push for Prince Fielder next offseason. We've seen that the O's are not afraid to spend cash, when they offered Mark Texiera a 7 year, $165 million contract. They were outbid by the Nationals, Yankees, and Red Sox, and Texiera ultimately signed with the Yankees, but the fact that the Orioles made that big a push gives fans hope that they will continue to pursue these top-tier free agents. So, why not Prince?
Derrek Lee is out after this season. So, unless the Orioles see very big potential from Brandon Snyder, or more likely, from Josh Bell or Nolan Reimold, the Orioles will likely pursue another free agent first baseman. To compete in the AL East, they will need all the pop they can get in their offense. So, they need to pursue Prince to compete with the Yankees, and the reguvenated Red Sox. Adding Prince to an offense with Brian Roberts, Matt Weiters, Mark Reynolds, and Adam Jones will make for as good an offense as the Rays have, about as strong as the current Yankees, and atleast closer to the Red Sox offense than they are now. Also, with young pitchers like Brian Matusz, Jake Arrieta, Zach Britton, and Chris Tillman on the rise, they will have a strong pitching staff coming with the offense. So, Prince is the missing piece to the puzzle that is the new, competing Orioles in 2012 and beyond.
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