MLB rumors: Did Detroit Tigers trade Prince Fielder to clear salary for Shin-Soo Choo?

The Detroit Tigers made quite the drastic and somewhat unexpected move on Wednesday evening when they traded Prince Fielder and $30 million dollars to the Texas Rangers in exchange for infielder Ian Kinsler.

There were rumors that the Tigers were open to trading Fielder, but more times than not though rumors prove to be just that – rumors. Not with Fielder though as the Tigers, despite parting with $30 million dollars, cleared up a ton of salary.

That will give them some immediate flexibility where they can re-sign/extend some of their own talent or possibly hit the free agent market, which according to ESPN’s Buster Olney could be a possibility. Olney says some fellow MLB general managers believe the Tigers will now sign Shin-Soo Choo, possibly the top free agent outfielder on the market:

"Some rival evaluators believe that Shin-Soo Choo will now land in Detroit, to play LF. We’ll see."

Choo and Jacoby Ellsbury of the Boston Red Sox have been viewed as the two prized outfield free agents, though both have reportedly requested contracts upwards of $125 million dollars. Detroit could certainly use some outfield help and Choo’s a near perfect fit, but you have to question if the Tigers are ready to commit on another large scale free agent deal, this after ridding themselves of Fielder’s albatross.