Poll Results: Prince Fielder, Joel Hanrahan, Carlos Beltran

We included polls in December articles on Prince Fielder, Joel Hanrahan, and Carlos Beltran, so here’s a look at the interesting results. One of them produced the most lopsided results in the history of our site, while the other two were quite close.

There’s also a new poll up on our main page about whether or not the Jays should go after Matt Garza, so feel free to chime in on that one and have your say.

Prince Fielder (From the article, Chiming in on the Prince Fielder Blue Jays rumors)

This Fielder poll, published on December 5, easily produced the most lopsided results out of any of the polls on our site. A staggering 88.9% of you felt that the Alex Anthopoulos and the Blue Jays should pursue the soon-to-be former Brewers slugger this winter, and almost a full month later, he’s still on the market.

Few teams seem intent on meeting Fielder’s reported asking price of $25.5 million per season on a lengthy term, spawning speculation that he might be open to signing a shorter contract at a higher annual salary. Fielder’s agent, Scott Boras quickly shot down that theory, though.

As I pointed out in the article, not only do sluggers in their prime like Fielder rarely hit free agency, but the immediate impact/upgrade that he’d bring to the Jays, coupled with the Jays’ lack of standout prospects in the minors at first base, indicate that signing him would make sense for the Jays. Plus, add in the weak free agent market, aside from Joey Votto, for first basemen in the next six-plus years and the message that signing Fielder would send to a Jays fan base reacting to the recent talk of “payroll parameters”.

Joel Hanrahan (From the article, Blue Jays trade target: Pirates closer Joel Hanrahan)

This poll flew under the radar without many votes, much like Joel Hanrahan himself in recent trade rumors. It was split nearly right down the middle, with slightly more people voting against the notion of trading for him.

Though Hanrahan hasn’t been talked about much (not to mention the Pirates probably won’t trade him), the 30-year-old broke out in his first season as Pittsburgh’s closer. His ground ball rate increased by over 10 percent to 52.4 in 2011, and his average fastball velocity increased for the second consecutive season to a blistering 97 mph.

Carlos Beltran (From the article, Blue Jays interested in Carlos Beltran?)

Even though Beltran signed a two-year, $26 million contract with the St. Louis Cardinals last week, the results from this poll were still interesting.

706 of 1278 people (55%) voted in favor of the idea of signing Beltran, but 70% of those voters would only have approved the move if he was offered no longer than a two-year contract. Of the 572 voters that were against the idea of Beltran becoming a Blue Jay, 74% of them felt that the Jays had enough outfielders as it is, while the others felt that the 1999 Rookie of the Year and six-time All-Star would have been too pricey.

-JM

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