Hamilton or Fielder -- who ya got?

Josh Hamilton or Prince Fielder -- which one would you rather have on your team?
That's a question that apparently the Texas Rangers are kicking around in their free-agency war room.

Rumors have been swirling for several weeks that Fielder, represented by the "Great White Satan" Scott Boras, is intrigued at the thought of playing in Texas. After all, the Rangers have transformed into winners, have good young talent that should keep them that way for a while, and Fielder likely could post tremendous power numbers at The Ballpark.

Fielder already lost out in one battle: Texas opted to go hard after Japanese pitcher Yu Darvish instead of Fielder, investing nearly $52 million for the right to negotiate with him and another $60 million to sign him. That's money that could have gone to Fielder -- but since Nolan Ryan continues to build the team around pitching, the decision was made to chase after Darvish.

Now, the debate turns to whether it would be smarter for Texas to sign Fielder to a long-term contract -- and turn its back on former MVP Josh Hamilton, a free agent following the 2012 season.

To me, the answer is easy: sign Fielder. Sure, there's the age difference (Fielder is three years younger), and the fact he possesses more natural power. Hamilton, on the other hand, is the better overall athlete and is more versatile, although Fielder is obviously a good athlete for his size.

The difference is simply health. Hamilton has been beset by a series of injuries throughout his time with the Rangers. He played 156 games during his MVP campaign in 2008, but has not played more than 133 in the time since. And while he deserves credit for playing through injuries such as the torn abdominal and abductor muscles in the 2011 postseason, Hamilton simply can't stay healthy.

On the other hand, Fielder has never played fewer than 157 games in a full season. He's been remarkably consistent in his short career, in part because he's been able to avoid the major injury, unlike Hamilton.

And even though it might be a little bit of a cheap shot to point it out -- there has to be concern among the Rangers brass about Hamilton's addiction. That appears to be obvious after Johnny Narron, Hamilton's personal accountability coach with the Rangers, left to be hitting coach in Milwaukee. Although Hamilton insisted he was fine without an accountability contact, the team still wanted to hire his father-in-law to keep him company on the road. That arrangement quickly fell through, but the pursuit of someone shows the Rangers' concerns over Hamilton's addiction, and the possibility of relapse.

Hamilton is wildly popular in Texas and has been a model citizen for the Rangers, and parting ways would be difficult. But Fielder is clearly the smarter long-term investment for the team.