The Detroit Tigers trade of Doug Fister to the Nationals has been almost universally panned in the media. However, the Tiger GM puts the move into perspective, as it gave some salary relief, allowed the team to sign closer Joe Nathan, and to open up positions for young pitchers on their staff.
CBS Detroit reported that Tiger General Manager Dave Dombrowski knows many people will not like the Fister trade. Fister filled a key role in the 2013 Detroit
Tigers rotation, one of the undisputed best in baseball. Now Fister, who
won 14 games and recorded a 3.67 ERA over 208.2 innings.
In return the Tigers acquired starting pitching prospect Robbie Ray,
left-handed relief pitcher Ian Krol and utility man Steve Lombardozzi.
“You’re always prepared when you trade the known for the unknown that
people in general don’t like those type of moves,” Dombrowski said.
“For us, we end up in a position where we get a quality young
left-handed pitcher in Robbie Ray but also very close to the major
leagues at this point, just sitting on the doorstep ready to step and
pitch at the big-league level; a quality young left-handed reliever
who’s ready to be one of our lefties in the bullpen right now, projects
to be a No. 1 type of lefty; and really one of the best utility players
in baseball that can help us at second, short, outfield.”
As solid as Fister pitched for the Tigers, Dombrowski essentially
said Detroit could still have a great rotation without him because of
the other young pitchers already on the team.
“We feel our starting depth at this time allowed us to make the deal
to move Drew Smyly into the rotation,” Dombrowski said. “We think Rick
Porcello’s ready to assume more of a role as the No. 4 starter and give
us in turn a guy like Robbie Ray who we think has a chance to be a very
fine Major League pitcher sitting in Triple-A ready to help out in the
near future.”
Smyly’s 2.37 ERA through 63 appearances made him by far one of the
most effective relievers for the Tigers in 2013. Porcello, who worked in
the No. 5 slot, won 13 games and recorded a 4.32 ERA over 177 innings.
At least Dombrowski thought through a plan before pulling the trigger. Other reports indicate that he did not openly market Fister to other clubs, so there may have been a better deal out there. There is some merit to open a space for a pitcher in one's system who is ready to make the transition to the majors like Smyly. And getting two quality left handed pitchers in a trade for one veteran is usually hailed as a good move. As with all trades, time will tell if it was successful.
