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glmuskie's picture

Berkman's 36.  In this post-steroid era I wouldn't put much stock in him maintaining career production levels.
Mo Vaughn is the cautionary tale of Fielder, as others have noted.  And he wasn't even quite as HWP-challenged as Fielder is.  His .420 OBP at age 29 turned in to .358 at age 31.  :-/.
But still.  Vaughn at age 34 was still at 113 OPS+.  That's what Fielder would be at the end of a 7-year contract.  Barring catastrophic injury, that's about what I would say is the worst-case scenario on a Fielder signing - A couple years of MVP-caliber batting production, with decline ending at a league-average DH.
Also, in a way, I take Fielder's weight as a bit of a bonus.  In the batter's box he looks like he's going to either kill the fastball over the fences, or catch it in his mouth and eat it.  : )  His size adds to his intimidation factor. 

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