The Detroit Tigers made a move to fill a hole in their lineup created by the season-ending injury to designated hitter Victor Martinez by signing first basemen Prince Fielder to a nine-year contract worth a reported $214 million contract. This gives the Tigers two 40+ home run, 100+ RBI sluggers in the middle of the batting order with Fielder joining Miguel Cabrera.
From a fantasy standpoint, there should be little change to the value of Fielder with the move to the American League. The big winner in the signing is Cabrera who will now see time at third base, first base and designated hitter. While it might take Cabrera a few weeks to gain third base eligibility once the season starts, it puts him in discussion now for being the number one overall pick in fantasy drafts.
The only real question with Cabrera now shifting to third base, is where is Fielder going to hit in the lineup. Cabrera has been entrenched at cleanup so Fielder would fit nicely into the third spot in the order and provide a nice lefty-right split between the three and four hitters in the order.
It also helps Austin Jackson keep his value if he hits first in the order again as he was looking at a drop in runs scored with the loss of Martinez from the order. Now with Fielder in a run-producing spot in the lineup, Jackson’s value goes back to where it was pre-Martinez’s injury.
