Report: Tigers & Rangers Agree to Prince Fielder – Ian Kinsler Trade

Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

You woke up today and thought about baseball, right?

Pitchers and catchers reporting and the crack of the bat all dance through your pretty little head. What didn’t cross your mind during your mid-morning baseball coma? Probably, the Detroit Tigers sending Prince Fielder to the Texas Rangers for Ian Kinsler. That didn’t really cross anyone’s mind until it happened.

If you still don’t believe it, check out the original report from CBS Sports.

This is a good move for the Tigers, because they add some actual defense with Ian Kinsler and more importantly free up some money to sign Cy Young winner Max Scherzer. It’s good for the Rangers because they just added Prince Fielder who hits a lot of home runs and never misses a game. No losers, only winners.

Of course, none of this is official yet, but it has been agreed to, reportedly. Fielder does have a limited no-trade clause.

This has no real immediate effect on the Minnesota Twins. It doesn’t make the Tigers a worse team; in fact the extra cap space probably makes them a better team. The extra money may allow the Tigers to not only sign Scherzer, but also sign a reliable closer like ex-Twin Joe Nathan to sure up a woeful bullpen.

The hot stove has been jumpstarted. Yee haw!