Following the 2011 World Series, Fielder became a free agent. On January 26, 2012, Fielder agreed to a nine-year, $214 million contract with the Detroit Tigers to play first base and bat clean-up in the Tigers batting order. It was the largest contract in the history of the Tigers, surpassing Miguel Cabrera's contract of $185.3 million over eight years. The Tigers acquired Fielder to replace the bat of an injured Víctor Martínez, the everyday designated hitter in 2011. The acquisition of Fielder, who had only played first base in his career, required 2008–2011 first baseman Miguel Cabrera to move to third, which Cabrera was notably happy to do.