Did The Detroit Tigers Win The Kinsler-Fielder Trade? [BLOG]
By Dan Jenkins
@DanTJenkins
Just after the MLB playoffs ended in 2013, The Detroit Tigers and president Dave Dombrowksi shocked the baseball world. Domebrowski shipped first baseman Prince Fielder and his giant contract to the Texas Rangers in exchange for second baseman Ian Kinsler.
Tigers fans were quick to call this trade a victory after last season, whereas it should have realistically been graded an "incomplete." Fielder played only 42 games to open the season before being shelved after undergoing season-ending neck surgery.
Meanwhile, Kinsler plugged in well at the top of Detroit's lineup, where he hit 17 home runs and was named an All-Star in 2014. After a slow start to 2015, Kinsler has been better in recent weeks, but his power number still just aren't there (.274 batting average, three home runs and 39 RBIs).
The main reason the Tigers traded for Kinsler, however, is because of his defense.
Back in Texas, Fielder is having an MVP-caliber season -- batting .339 with 14 home runs and 54 RBIs at the 2015 All-Star break. He even earned an invitation to the Home Run Derby in Cincinnati, and event he won in 2012 with the Tigers.
[MORE: Prince Fielder: 'I Don't Give A F— About The Detroit Series']
While some may attribute Fielder's renaissance to the change of scenery -- considering his final act in Detroit -- he thinks the simple fact of being healthy is more telling.
Whatever the reason, Fielder is a premier player in the MLB once again. But should the Tigers still have traded him? Perhaps, but Dombrowski saw a chance to move his enormous contract (signed nine-year, $214 million deal in 2012) and took it. The move also allowed Migual Cabrera to move back to first base from third base, where he was a liability.
So what do you think? Did the Tigers win this trade? Or should they have given Fielder more than two years to work things out in Motown?
Let us know in the poll below!
