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No dispute on the value of a healthy Fielder.  I like him a lot.  He would quite likely be worth the big dough he would get. 
But if I'm a GM I proceed very cautiously down that road because of the potential of wrecking a franchise's flexability for years to come.  But then, I'm a cautious guy.
I am aware of Ethier's knee issues, which is why I suggested "Ethier-like."
I would be all over a 4 year $25M contract for Fielder.  Probably 5 years.  But years 7 and 8 in the numbers being suggested begin to scare me.  And it isn't that you could just say that his productive years would indeed work out to $25M per. If he failed, the damage done in the following years, when a gimpy shell of his former self guy still consumes 20%+ of the teams salary, completely hamstrings the team.
I proceed cautiously, which doesn't necessarily mean that I wouldn't end up signing Fielder.  It's just that I wouldn't sprint to that signing without very carefully looking at other options first.  My first option might be to do nothing this year and let the young guys eat, although I know that isn't a popular choice around here.
Fielder would be a ttreat to watch for the next 4 years.  Beyond that, I'm not yet convinced. I will continue looking at it though.
moe