Why the Cubs need to take Fielder seriously

Now that Albert Pujols has found a new home in California, it is time for baseball to turn its attention to Brewers first baseman Prince Fielder, who is also a free agent this winter. I am not all that dissapointed that the Cubs did not pursue Albert Pujols for two reasons. One is that he is not the kind of player that you are going to build a team around. The Cubs are in a re-building stage, and Pujols is too old to be a centerpiece of a re-building team. The second is that expectations would be too high. If the Cubs were to sign the best player in baseball, they would be expected to contend immediately, and I don't think they could.

Prince Fielder, however, is a different story. Fielder is younger, giving the Cubs more time to work with him and re-build around him. Also, he has always remained fairly "under the radar" despite putting up numbers that make him among the best in the game. Fielder is no doubt a superior option for the Cubs. He is an option that the Cubs must take seriously.

Not only is Fielder a great candidate for the Cubs, but he is a necessary one. The proper way to re-build is to re-build around a player that stands out. Without Fielder, the Cubs don't have that player. Ramirez is getting old and Soriano cannot be counted on for anything. The Cubs have done a nice job building up several quality young players, and Fielder would provide a centerpiece for the re-building. After that, you could trade Ramirez or Soriano (if anyone wants to pay him) and start new.

Rumors have been slow-coming over the Fielder situation. A friend of Fielder's reportedly said that his coice would be to play in Chicago, although similar rumors surfaced about Miami. At this point, the Marlins say that they won't be involved in courting Fielder. So who else? The Rangers have been rumored for awhile, and now that division-rival Los Angeles has aquired Pujols, they may want to make a splash. Other than that, Peter Gammons told CSN Chicago that the Cubs are going about the situatiion correctly, saying that he believes that Prince will end up on the North Side. However, a few hours later, Gammons tweeted that the Cubs are not likely to sign Fielder because the money isn't there. The situation appears open.

I trust Theo Epstein and his staff to get this one right. The Cubs are being presented with a prime opportunity to establish themselves as a favorite in the NL Central with Pujols out of St. Louis. Theo knows a thing or two about building World Series teams, and I trust that he will bring that knowledge to Chicago. If the Cubs want to contend in the next 5 years, they need to start making moves now.