Questions about Rangers’ Fielder won’t be answered for months

Prince Fielder probably woke up this morning in pain and tired, having not slept much during the first 48 hours following cervical fusion surgery.

To be sure, he’s confined to a neck brace and will be for at least two weeks. He’ll be spending a lot of time on the couch initially after the operation, though gradually becoming more active.

He’ll wonder and worry some, too, about doing something wonky that might set him back and when or if he’ll be able to get back to being a major-league baseball player.

But barring being told otherwise by Dr. Drew Dossett, Fielder is going to try to come back. He hasn’t said that to anyone in the media, but he doesn’t need to say it.

Fielder loves being a baseball player and loves being part of a team. Baseball is all he’s known, not just as an adult but for his whole life as the son of a major-league player.

With each surgery, though, comes less range of motion and a higher risk for another herniated disk and another operation.

Quality of life is something Fielder is bound to be thinking about, too.

Rangers officials and players are wondering some of the same things as Fielder, especially the possibility that he has to retire.

Make no mistake that Fielder’s teammates unanimously are in his corner and believe in him and what’s on the back of his baseball card. They say they want him back.

If he doesn’t return, though, the Rangers will have a hole to fill in their lineup. They could use the designated hitter spot to rotate players in and out, using DH days to give regulars a day off their feet without losing their bat.

Jurickson Profar would be the biggest beneficiary, gaining regular at-bats for the first time as he jumps around the infield and left field.

Of course, Profar is trade bait and very possibly could be dealt before Monday’s deadline. If he were dealt and if Fielder can’t play again, Mitch Moreland would suddenly become a player the Rangers might want to re-sign.

Moreland entered Saturday batting .241, but he can hit home runs for a team that has power potential but not necessarily a true proven power hitter. A free agent after the season, he’ll be looking for a multiyear deal that the Rangers might not want to give him.

Joey Gallo fits into the Fielder picture as well.

Like Profar, Gallo needs to avoid being traded the next two days. If he isn’t dealt, he figures to be a regular next season even if Fielder is able to play. A healthy Fielder could mean no Moreland as the Rangers turn to Gallo.

The Rangers also have a financial stake in whether Fielder can return. He is owed $96 million, $70 million of which the Rangers must pay. But when they acquired that contract from Detroit, they also acquired an insurance policy on it.

Club officials would never say how much they will recoup, out of fear of ticking off the insurance company, but it’s thought to be at least 50 percent.

And $35 million, even if it’s spread out over the next four years, is pretty significant.

That could help re-sign Ian Desmond and Colby Lewis, or exercise a club option on Derek Holland, or find help via free agency.

But it’s far too early to tell what will come of Fielder.

The Rangers want Fielder to be the player that they thought they were getting in 2013, and would be happy if he returned as the player he was in 2015 — when he led the team in batting average, home runs and RBIs.

That might be a stretch, though it’s up to a renowned surgeon, trainers and Fielder to determine that. The final answer is likely months away.

That’s not all that is likely running through Fielder’s mind, or the minds of many others with the Rangers.

This story was originally published July 30, 2016 at 7:20 PM with the headline "Questions about Rangers’ Fielder won’t be answered for months."