Prince Fielder Rumors: Meeting in Dallas; Darvish Backup Plan; Looking Trim

The latest rumors coming out of the Prince Fielder sweepstakes is the juicy bit that he met with the Texas Rangers yesterday, according to Richard Durrett of ESPN Dallas. Durrett notes that the talks are still just "preliminary," and that any notion of bringing in Fielder is likely a backup plan in case signing Yu Darvish doesn't work out.

Jeff Wilson of the Star-Telegram suggests that it's unlikely the Rangers sign both, and Tom Haudricourt reports that Fielder was looking "trim" and impressed the team:

• Prince Fielder meets Texas Rangers in Dallas - ESPN Dallas
  "The Texas Rangers' interest in Prince Fielder is high enough that a handful of club officials met with the free-agent slugger in a face-to-face meeting at a Dallas-area hotel Friday. Rangers CEO Nolan Ryan said Saturday at Rangers FanFest that the club's meeting with Fielder and agent Scott Boras was 'very preliminary.'"
• Is it Prince Fielder vs. Josh Hamilton? - Richard Durrett | ESPN Dallas
  "...But a source said Friday that the club is exploring all options and that Fielder is likely a backup plan if things with Darvish fall through. That's not to say the club couldn't afford both Darvish and Fielder. But that would likely depend on how the contract with Fielder is structured."

• Rangers test water by talking to Prince Fielder - Jeff Wilson | Star-Telegram
  "Signing Darvish and Fielder to counter the Wilson-Pujols combination the Angels landed Dec. 8 seems to be less of a possibility, according to another source, even though principal owners Bob Simpson and Ray Davis showed a willingness to open their wallets when they agreed to pay a $51.7 million posting fee if the Rangers sign Darvish. The fee and the contract could total more than $120 million."
• Twitter / @Haudricourt - "Rangers reportedly were impressed with how trim Fielder was during Fri meeting. Good time to ease worries about body going forward."