The Tigers have signed 27-year old lefty swinging 1B Prince Fielder to a 9-year, $214 million dollar deal. Fielder played in 162 games for the Brewers last year and he was 170 for 569 (.299 avg, .981 OPS) with 95 runs scored, 38 homers, 120 RBIs and 1 stolen base. He has now played in 998 games in his first 7 years in the majors and he is 996 for 3,527 (.282 avg, .929 OPS) with 571 runs scored, 230 homers, 656 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Fielder has won 2 Silver Slugger Awards and he has been to the All-Star Team 3 times in his career so far. In the last six years, Fielder is averaging 94.8 runs scored, 38.0 homers and 107.7 RBIs per season. Fielder will be the starting 1B with Miguel Cabrera shifting to 3B or LF or RF for 2012. This was an epic signing for the Tigers as Fielder returns to the city where his father (Cecil Fielder) excelled. Imagine what kind of numbers Miguel Cabrera is going to put up with Fielder hitting behind him!

The Tigers have lost 33-year old switch-hitting DH/C/1B Victor Martinez for the entire 2012 season due to a torn ACL. He was injured during winter conditioning. Martinez played in 145 games for the Tigers last year and he was 178 of 540 (.330 avg, .850 OPS) with 76 runs scored, 12 homers, 103 RBIs and 1 stolen base. He has now played in 1,149 games in his first 10 years in the majors and he is 1,298 of 4,279 (.303 avg, .840 OPS) with 585 runs scored, 143 homers, 741 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. One had to think that this was a big loss for the Tigers, until they signed Prince Fielder today.

The Tigers have signed 31-year old righty swinging 1B Brad Eldred to a minor league deal. Eldred played in 112 games in AAA-ball last year for the Giants and he was 103 of 371 (.278 avg, .887 OPS) with 61 runs scored, 23 homers, 57 RBIs and 9 stolen bases. He last played in the majors back in 2010 with the Rockies. He has played in 85 games in his first three years in the majors and he is 53 for 260 (.204 avg, .678 OPS) with 30 runs scored, 15 homers, 33 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Eldred could get to the Tigers at some point in 2012, but he will likely start the season in the minors.

The Tigers have signed 27-year old righty starting pitcher James Avery to a minor league deal. Avery pitched in 27 games (26 starts) in AA-ball for the Reds last year and he was 6-12 with a 4.70 ERA and a 1.55 WHIP. He has now pitched in 146 games (141 starts) in his first 7 years in the minors and he is 43-49 with a 4.53 ERA and a 1.45 WHIP. Avery will likely pitch most, if not all, of the 2012 season in the minors as he has yet to pitch in the majors.

The Tigers have signed 29-year old lefty swinging outfielder Matt Young to a minor league deal. Young played in 20 games for the Braves in his first taste of the majors last year and he was 10 for 48 (.208 avg, .498 OPS) with 4 runs scored and 1 RBI. He also played in 99 games in AAA-ball last year and he was 100 for 366 (.273 avg, .719 OPS) with 64 runs scored, 1 homer, 24 RBIs and 17 stolen bases. Young will probably start the 2012 season in the minors, but he could surface with them at some point this year.