The first blockbuster deal of this year's MLB offseason occurred on Wednesday night when the Detroit Tigers sent first baseman Prince Fielder and $30 million to the Texas Rangers in exchange for second baseman Ian Kinsler in a deal that shocked the baseball world, but former Tigers pitcher Denny McLain said on a Michigan radio program that there may have been a darker reason for why Fielder was shipped out of Detroit other than just to shed salary.
According to Deadspin.com, McLain appeared on the Michigan radio show Doctor & Bentley and while it wasn't clear what he was trying to get at, his comments suggested that Fielder was shipped off for some unsavory and dark reasons other than the Tigers trying to make a move to shore up the team's finances.
"I really believe it all had to do with all of the ongoing domestic issues," McLain said on the program. "There was a lot of pain here between Fielder and another player or two. There's some information apparently that was withheld from Fielder that people knew about and I think that's what sparked this thing as far as him wanting to leave."
McLain wouldn't specify what the issues were or who they involved, but he said it should come out in the next few days.
"It doesn't surprise me; I think we'll learn a lot more over the next couple of days because the reporters who were all over this and who were not allowed to put out the story for whatever reason, I think that story will come out over the next week or two. It's kind of an ugly, ugly story."
McLain also alluded to a top prospect being traded to Chicago as a hint that perhaps the prospect and Fielder had some issues and said that there was a "nastiness" and "ugliness" going on.
The Tigers won their third straight division crown in 2013 but lost in the American League Championship Series to the eventual World Series champion Boston Red Sox in six games.
Fielder signed a nine-year $214 million contract with the Tigers heading into the 2012 season. While he showed durability by playing in all 162 games for the third consecutive season and hit .279 with 25 homers and 106 RBIs, Fielder went out with a whimper in the postseason, hitting just .182 in the ALCS against the Red Sox.
The Tigers received Kinsler, who hit .277 last season with 31 doubles, 13 homers, 72 RBIs and 85 runs scored through 136 games and played solid defense for Texas.
It is unknown what the issues with Fielder were, but if McLain's words are true it may come out in the coming days.
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