Early last offseason before Victor Martinez blew out his knee, the Tigers had a big glaring hole at third base named Brandon Inge.  One of the free agents that they could, and should, have made a run at was Aramis Ramirez from the Cubs who instead ended up in Milwaukee hitting behind Ryan Braun.

Ramirez signed a three-year deal with the Brewers for $36 million with a mutual option for 2015 and is only making $6 million this season.  Fielder on the other hand is signed for nine-years and $214 million and forced Miguel Cabrera to play third base.  The question Tigers fans, are you still happy with Prince or will the Tigers regret not going after Ramirez?

Here’s a few more facts about their seasons so far, Prince is currently hitting .314 with 19 home runs and 81 RBI’s in 112 games so far in his first season in the American League.  Ramirez on the other hand is currently hitting .294 with 15 home runs and 70 RBI’s hitting in Fielder’s old spot in the lineup.

So for an extra $18 million this season the Tigers are getting an extra .020 four home runs and 11 RBI’s from Prince to Ramirez, but no one can guarantee if either player would put up the same stats in the other system.

If you don’t want to use the stats to compare the two, just look at the contracts instead.  If the Tigers would have signed Ramirez they would have had most likely gotten a solid two seasons out of him at third base before giving way to super-prospect Nick Castellanos.  Ramirez could then have been the DH and split time at third in the final season or two if they picked up his option.

With Fielder, the Tigers have much less flexibility with Cabrera and Fielder taking up the corner infield spots for the foreseeable future and Castellanos working on playing in the outfield.  If Fielder ends up becoming the full-time DH Cabrera will have to go back to first and Castellanos at third which moves all three guys to new positions from this season.

Most Tigers fans were excited to get Fielder and I am one of them, but having to sign him to a nine-year deal could be dangerous to the future.  Ramirez would have made for a nice bridge to get Castellanos to the majors in his comfort position but we will see how the team works out this situation, but step one is make the playoffs and beyond this season.

What do you think Tigers fans, did the Tigers make a mistake in not reaching out to Ramirez or are you happy with Prince and what he will do wearing the Olde English D?  Let us know at @DSBloggers on Twitter or on Facebook or in the comments below to tell us what you, the fans, think.