Needless to say, veteran righty Doug Fister didn’t have the platform year he hoped for. He managed only a 4.64 ERA with 5.7 K/9 and an uncharacteristically high 3.1 BB/9 last year for the Astros. He also hasn’t quite maintained his once-excellent groundball induction rates. But he did turn in 32 starts, and provide 180 1/3 innings, after two straight seasons in which he faced some limitations. And he was also able to boost his velocity somewhat; though it still fell shy of his already-low career peak, at least Fister showed that he wasn’t set to fall off a cliff in the velo department.
All in all, the table seemed to be set for another pillow contract. After all, though he also produced uninspiring results in 2015, Fister landed in the top ten of the National League Cy Young voting in the season prior. From the start of his career in 2009, though that top-quality 2014 campaign, Fister had contribute nearly one thousand innings of 3.34 ERA pitching. The track record, in other words, still seems good enough to warrant a major league opportunity.
Still, business has been slow all winter for the 6’8 right-hander. There was chatter at times about teams with interest — the Marlins, Pirates, Mariners, Padres, and Royals all reportedly had some connection to Fister — though momentum never seemed to develop. AteR this point, it’s not even clear whether he has received any MLB offers, let alone whether there’d still be one available now, with camp well underway.
Unless there’s some unreported inkling of retirement, it still seems likely that Fister will land somewhere over the next few weeks. Perhaps he’s waiting to see whether a golden opportunity develops due to injury; perhaps he’s still hoping a team steps forward with an appealing guarantee.
Let’s see what the MLBTR readership thinks about how things will shake out. In lining up the best suitors for a poll, we’ll assume that Fister is looking for a clear rotation spot and we won’t guess at any new injuries. Here goes (in alphabetical order):
Padres — While the team has added several veteran hurlers already, and proceeded to sign Jered Weaver after the point of the reported interest in Fister, that doesn’t mean there isn’t a possible fit. If nothing else, it’d be interesting to see the club fill its staff out entirely with free agents signed to one year deals. At this point, the interest level likely comes down to whether the team has enough interest in giving a shot to an in-house option such as Christian Friedrich, Tyrell Jenkins, or Zach Lee.
Reds — Likewise, though Cincinnati is said to be finished giving out MLB deals, this rotation won’t be finished until the deadline for submitting Opening Day rosters … and will likely change quite a bit thereafter. There’s arguably greater uncertainty in the Reds’ staff than even the Padres’ at this stage, with pitchers such as Tim Adleman, Robert Stephenson, and a variety of other younger pitchers duking it out with grizzled veteran Bronson Arroyo to establish places in the pecking order. At least two spots seem up for grabs; if the Reds don’t feel comfortable with any of their internal possibilities, it’s easy to imagine a pivot to Fister.
Pirates — This seems fairly unlikely, but perhaps there’s some daylight still for the Bucs to take on their latest reclamation project. There’s probably a reason it hasn’t happened already, but Pittsburgh could perhaps still reconsider the options on hand. Drew Hutchison has hardly guranteed himself a roster spot based on his recent track record, and the organization’s series of promising youngsters — highlighted by Tyler Glasnow — might be deemed best kept at Triple-A to open the season.
Rangers — Similarly, it’s a bit of a strain to see the Rangers lining up with Fister at this point. The club already added Andrew Cashner and the recovering Tyson Ross to join A.J. Griffin in the mix at the back of the rotation. But Cashner has experienced biceps soreness while Griffin has struggled early in camp, and it’s not clear whether the team wants to rely too much on Dillon Gee (who had offseason surgery) or one of its unestablished youngsters. That leaves a bit of room to imagine something coming together on Fister, though perhaps the Rangers would first consider the familiar Colby Lewis.
Rockies — Colorado doesn’t seem inclined to pursue an alternative route, but the organization remains hard to predict from the outside. Fister could make a great deal of sense, if the Rox come to believe that none of their top young arms — primarily, Jeff Hoffman, but also German Marquez or Kyle Freeland — is prepared to be leaned upon for the span of the season. If that’s the case, and Jordan Lyles isn’t deemed an adequate fill-in, then perhaps the towering sinkerballer could make sense.
Yankees — The Yanks might make better sense than any other team in baseball, if the team has some added funds to spare. With two rotation spots up for grabs, the club is hardly in sure hands. Adam Warren is a veteran option, but hasn’t had much recent success, while Luis Severino has gobs of talent but struggled last year. Other options — Chad Green, Luis Cessa, and Bryan Mitchell — have hardly staked obvious claims to a starting gig. With that much uncertainty, bringing on an established veteran could add some stability while also deepening the overall unit entering the season.
It’s certainly possible to imagine other teams — say, the Tigers, White Sox, Angels, Twins, Athletics, Brewers, Phillies, or Red Sox — emerging with interest.But in each of those cases, I think, it would likely require an injury or a major change of heart on an internal option to lead to an agreement. Certainly, there would be others if Fister is willing to head to the pen to function as a swingman. So, that’s my list, but feel free to debate alternatives in the comments.
Where do you think Fister will end up? (Link for app users.)
Phillies2017
I think Detroit
jcmurphy
Wouldn’t be a bad move on either of their parts.
A'sfaninUK
Whomever loses a SP to TJ in ST.
pukelit
Was it too hard to spell out any of those words?
ghost of harambe
No t was jst a few secs quiker
staypuft
Y u heff 2 b mad
3Rivers
Shut your mouth
TheGreatTwigog
Not saying it’s likely, but Boston should be an option. I’m still scared Price misses time at some point, and we have a little depth but not much.
B-Strong
If I were Boston, id at least inquire. I doubt hed sign for what little theyd likely offer but it would be nice to have another righty starting option.
A'sfaninUK
No way, why would he sign on a team that would put him the minors when he could get a MLB rotation spot? Boston are screwed in this regard in that they really do just have to wait for the injury to happen, then make a trade – this is their only option.
Plus its not like Fister is categorically an upgrade over Wright, Rodriguez, Elias and Owens – those 4 would still be in front of the depth chart. Really no match here.
NicTaylor
I’d take Fister and his 3.1bb/9 over Ownlens and his 4bb/inning right now
ghost of harambe
Fister would likely be 7/8 on the depth chart and with ??? Surrounding 4 of the guys ahead of him, he miht
Have a chance of pitching in the rotation for most of the year
Joseph Anderson
Twins pick him up as their ace! lol
A'sfaninUK
Sad but tru!
angels fan 3
Both Santana and Santiago are better
biasisrelitive
Santana yes and by a lot Santiago I don’t think so
angels fan 3
I think Santiago has been good but last year he started to figure things out but was caught off guard by the trade and struggled with the twins.
lovableschmuck
He’s signed by the first team that loses a starter to a season ending injury.
a1544
The Red Sox need depth
A'sfaninUK
He’s not going to the minors, give this up, Sox fans.
mack22 2
I think the Cubs. Lester is up there in age,Areiata hasn’t been dominating season since his Cy year, Hendricks is questionable, Lackey
Conman 2
Hendricks is questionable? Do you watch baseball? Finished 3rd in Cy young last year.
Kayrall
Arrieta has the lowest H/9 in the NL the past 2 years. If he hasn’t been dominating, then no one has.
EndinStealth
Arrieta is primed for a bad season. He was good last season not dominant.
tutopelotas1
Fister will fit perfectly in Miami as the Marlins’ starting rotation needs a veteran like him, especially now that Locke is hurt.
pinballwizard1969
If Fister is still available when Tyler Austin comes back from his broken foot the Yankees can trade/move Carter and use that move to sign Fister. That may not be totally out of the question.
ghost of harambe
Yeah coz so many teams want carter, don’t they
ThePriceWasRight
makes sense. Trade a guy who’s market was so almost nil after getting a sp on a 1 year deal that no one wants. plus all non playoff teams want to sign a player with no market to a 1 year deal about a month into the season in the hopes of trading them.
pinballwizard1969
At a pro-rated portion of $3.5MM you might be surprised.
SupremeZeus
Fister is waiting to sign a market rate MLB k one might sign in December, currently I don’t see it happening. Every team appears to be set and moving forward. There will have to be an injury or major performance failure/player release for Fister to sign on his terms. At this point, it appears not much will be guaranteed (rotation spot, MLB/Minor k, incentive based) in any deal he signs.
higuys
I see the Twins signing him
redsfan48
If Arroyo proves to either be not healthy or ineffective, the Reds will sign him. But I think they are committed to one rookie in the rotation, and Arroyo seems like the favorite to earn the other spot as of now.
redsfanman
What on earth have you been watching? Arroyo hasn’t even pitched in an official game yet this spring, let alone looked like ‘the favorite’ (I’d rank him the 11th on the current rotation depth chart). Meanwhile Garrett, Reed, Stephenson, Sal Romano, and Rookie Davis have all looked good at times this spring. These guys are knocking on the door, not making the team look for a doorstop.
I think they’re committed not to one rookie in the rotation, but two veterans. DeSclafani and Feldman. If and when Bailey returns that might become DeSclafani and Bailey instead, with Feldman moving ot the bullpen. Plus Finnegan, who’s kinda a vet and very young.
redsfan48
Read my comment below on your other post.
fortunes4
I see the Angels signing him when one of their starters goes down…..again.
angelsfan4life
Same here
66TheNumberOfTheBest
100% off topic (sorry Doug Fister)…the World Baseball Classic has been great so far, but MLB Network made a small mistake I hope they learn from and prevent in the future.
The play by play guy doing the Japan game this morning said what happened in the Netherlands-China game (walk off win by Netherlands) and that game was being aired afterwards on tape delay. If I didn’t know the outcome, it would have been an amazing game to watch.
RiverCatsFilms
SF might but the Dodgers will need him for the insane injuries to their rotation coming up- just like every year
Rob66
No one has mentioned the White Sox or A’s? One of those two teams is my prediction.
lesterdnightfly
Rockies will sign him. Bridich likes Fister because he’s tall, and put him at first base.
Then put Desmond in the bullpen to show the critics that Bridich knows how to use versatility.
redsfanman
I absolutely 100% think the Reds will NOT sign Fister. Stephenson, Reed, and Garrett are all MLB ready… and 2 of them will likely be in the rotation on opening day. Sal Romano and Rookie Davis have clearly impressed this spring, so far. Depth option Tim Adleman has been okay. Bronson Arroyo is such a long shot (~#11 on the depth chart, if healthy?) he’s barely worth mentioning – more a courtesy invite and mentor than a serious candidate – and his presence means precisely nothing to Fister.
Someone might say that the Reds rotation candidates all have question marks… well, so does Fister. It makes a lot more sense to stick with internal options with upside. I have no idea where Fister will end up, but it won’t be the Reds.
redsfan48
I disagree on Arroyo. If he’s fully healthy and relatively effective, he gets a rotation spot. One rookie (Reed, Garrett or Stephenson probably) gets the last spot. Arroyo likely moves to bullpen when Bailey is back.
redsfanman
We’ll have to agree to disagree, but Arroyo is clearly 11th on the depth chart.
DeSclafani
Bailey (injured)
Finnegan
Feldman
Stephenson
Reed
Garrett
Romano
Rookie Davis
Tim Adleman
Arroyo vs Lisalverto Bonilla
Note: All candidates are on the 40 man roster, except Arroyo and 60 day DL Bailey, which hurts Arroyo’s chances further, even IF he’s healthy and IF he’s effective.
I’m as big a fan of Arroyo as there is, but I’m also realistic about his chances…
redsfan48
If I had to guess, Adleman, Bonilla and probably Nefi Ogando will be losing their 40-man spots by the end of the spring. The only one I can see keeping their spot on the 40-man is Adleman if he makes the rotation, but he has limited upside, next to no MLB experience, and isn’t a prospect. Any one of those spots (plus potential spots from Stuart Turner or Christian Walker) could clear the 40 man spot for Arroyo, so I don’t think that’s even a factor. It’s all about health and effectiveness.
redsfan48
Additionally, the Reds need a leader in the clubhouse, and Arroyo would be that. That’s actually the primary reason I think he gets a spot over some of these other candidates.
redsfanman
The Reds will need several roster moves for their 5 man bench. Barnhart is definitely safe. I’d call Stuart Turner likely, at least until Mesoraco is able to catch regularly. Arismendy Alcantara’s status seems, at best, tentative. So, at least 2 roster moves will be needed just to fill out the bench. At this point I’d bet on one going to Hernan Iribarren.
Some guys – you’re right to include Christian Walker and Nefi Ogando as likely candidates – will need to be DFA’d. I would be stunned if they DFA’d somebody, even of ‘limited upside’ like Tim Adleman, for Bronson Arroyo, who is over a decade older and has even less upside.
By the way, so far there’s no sign that the Reds are even stretching Arroyo out to start, nor has he suggested that he believes his arm can handle that sorta work load.
Arroyo can be hired as a coach, and give Story Time (like he did today) everyday. Being a veteran mentor in the clubhouse is, in my opinion, the primary reason why he got an invite to camp, not for the contributions of his repaired arm. Bringing him to camp was a great decision, using him in MLB games because he’s a good clubhouse presence would be a terrible decision.
The Reds don’t want another Alfredo Simon, Kevin Gregg, Jason Marquis… and they won’t want that object of derision and laughter to be one of the more popular players in recent Reds history. Arroyo’s job on Opening Day should be leading the parade….
redsfan48
I see your point, I just don’t necessarily agree. On another note, I’d say the bench will likely include both Alcantara and Iribarren.
sportsjunkie24
Baltimore needs him
darenh
Padres
Reds
Pirates
Rangers
Rockies
Yankees
Is alphabetical order?
redsfanman
The Reds are non-conformist.
lowtalker1
Moron
Padres are not signing him
lowtalker1
Who ever need pitching
That’s who signs him
3Rivers
Perfect fit the pirates. More than a few questions for their rotation. Yet they will not add another starter. It’s like
3Rivers
Perfect fit for the pirates. More than a few questions for their rotation, yet they will not add another starter. It’s a shame. Bob Nutting deserves to be maimed. It’s like they want to prove to everyone the move they made by dumping salary and acquiring this bum Drew Hutchison was a good move by handing him a rotation spot regardless of his performance. Bob Nutting………. Bob ******* Nutting