The Detroit Tigers signed Prince Fielder to a lucrative contract worth $214 million over nine years Tuesday, ending the Washington Nationals' pursuit of the power-hitting left-hander. When asked for comment on the signing, Nationals manager Davey Johnson said, "Our pockets are deep, but they are not that deep," reports Andy Martino of the New York Daily News.
Johnson's comments appear to echo what Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post reported shortly after word of Fielder's signing began to spread: that the Nationals were unwilling to offer Fielder, 27, a contract longer than seven years.
A report early Tuesday indicated the Texas Rangers had left the bidding for Fielder, and that Washington was once again the favorite to sign the former Milwaukee Brewer. Detroit reached deeply into its pockets, however, and made Fielder an offer neither he nor Scott Boras, his agent, couldn't refuse.
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