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.

Is Darvish enough to keep Rangers on top?

The Texas Rangers now have more than $111 million invested in Yu Darvish, a guy who has never thrown a pitch against MLB competition.

Smart? Only time will tell.

But it was a move the Rangers needed to make to try to keep pace (and face) after their AL West rival Los Angeles Angels swooped in to snare free-agent prize Albert Pujols along with top southpaw C.J. Wilson.

Will it be enough? Even if Darvish comes in and wins 20 games, Texas needs an awful lot to go well with its mound corps to claim its third-consecutive division title.

Manager Ron Washington and pitching coach Mike Maddux might find repairing the psyches of their starting pitchers the most difficult challenge entering the season. After all, Neftali Feliz will move to the starting rotation after a monumental Game 6 meltdown that literally cost the Rangers a championship. The team had no choice but to move Feliz to the rotation because of the psychological damage done in that disastrous loss.

The rotation also will count on Alexi Ogando, who was a complete train wreck in the World Series. Ogando had 13 wins in 29 starts during the regular season before moving to the bullpen for the playoffs, but is his confidence now shaken beyond repair?

Lefty Derek Holland appears to be the only sure thing after a 16-win regular season and a stellar showing in the World Series. But he's young and getting real national exposure for the first time. Will he listen to the hype? How much of a distraction will it be for the kid?

Veteran Colby Lewis only occasionally shows flashes of brilliance; most of the time he's pedestrian at best. Matt Harrison is the other option for the rotation, but Buster Olney this week reported that if the Rangers inked Darvish, Harrison was likely the odd man out of the starting group.

My hunch is that Darvish will post somewhere near the 15 wins that Daisuke Matsuzaka got in his first year in MLB. But I don't see Feliz, with his mental baggage, making a smooth transition to the rotation, and Ogando will be fortunate to duplicate his 2011 starting numbers (and might be back in the bullpen by May).

And that means the Rangers -- short of shocking the world and opening the checkbook for Prince Fielder, too -- probably don't have enough to keep up with the Angels in the AL West.