The Texas Rangers will be without five time All-Star first baseman Prince Fielder for a considerable amount of time. Fielder will be getting cervical fusion surgery on his neck due to a herniated disk, and it is very likely he will miss the remainder of the season.

The injury has affected Fielder this season in his 42 games played. Fielder is viewed as one of the best (if not the best) power hitters in all baseball, but his neck slowed him considerably this year. In his 42 games this season, Fielder only had 3 home runs, a career low in both batting average (.247) and slugging percentage (.360) and just 16 RBIs. It was obvious that Fielder's neck had a lingering effect on his performance at the plate this season.

So what should the Rangers do now? They currently sit at fourth place in the American League West, seven games behind the Oakland Athletics and still have realistic hopes for contending for the division crown or even a wild card. Clearly, the Rangers need to make some moves to contend for the postseason.

One option for the Rangers is Cuban-born first baseman Kendrys Morales. Morales is a free agent, so the Rangers wouldn't have to trade away any players to acquire him. Morales is not going to single-handedly replace Fielder's talent, but he's a good starting addition. Last season, Morales batted .277 and hit 23 home runs. That's as good as it's going to get for free agent availability.

If the Rangers really wanted to think out of the box, they could call up Kevin Youkilis from the Japanese league. Youkilis does have back issues and is past his prime, so this would be a true sign of desperation.

Rickie Weeks of the Milwaukee Brewers has been in trade talks for over a year now. He has had his disagreements with Brewers management before over positioning and fielding play. Weeks is nowhere near the power hitter that Fielder is, but this season he is batting a career high .317. The Rangers could offer draft picks or pitchers for the 31-year-old Weeks.

Is there a possibility that the Detroit Tigers traded Fielder away because they knew of this injury? Probably not, and it would be very unfortunate if they did. It would also make for bad business in the future.

Another alternative for the Rangers is to go in a different direction and just completely embrace defense. Try to become the '69 Mets or the '55 Dodgers and win with pitching. Chicago Cubs pitcher Jeff Samardzija is having a tremendous season so far, but his talents are being wasted on the worst team in the league. A trade between the two teams may benefit both clubs.

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