12:15pm: Fletcher reports that Fister also has an out clause in his contract and will be released if he’s not in the Majors by June 21 (Twitter link). Cotillo noted that the contract has up to $1.2MM worth of incentives available, and as the Associated Press reports, $1MM of those incentives are tied to starting, while $200K are tied to relief work. According to the AP, Fister will earn $100K for making each of his eighth, 10th and 12th starts as an Angel. He’d also earn $150K apiece for reaching 14, 16 and 18 starts, plus another $250K if he starts a 20th game. The deal also has $200K worth of relief incentives — $50K for his 25th and 30th appearances plus $100K for his 35th.
MAY 22, 7:38am: Cotillo reports that Fister will received a pro-rated $1.75MM base salary in the Majors. Fister’s salary is not guaranteed, Fletcher tweets.
MAY 20: The Angels have made the signing official, with Fister inking a one-year deal (hat tip to Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register). He will be assigned to Class-A ball in order to get himself ready for big league action. In a corresponding move to create 40-man roster space, Andrew Bailey was shifted to the 60-day DL.
MAY 18: The Angels are in agreement with free-agent right-hander Doug Fister on a Major League contract, reports SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo (via Twitter). Fister is a client of PSI Sports Management.
As of last week, the 33-year-old Fister was said to be close to signing, and Cotillo listed the Angels as one of five clubs in the mix for him at that time. Presumably, though his contract is of the Major League variety, the veteran Fister has consented to be optioned to the minors in order to ramp up to the point where he’s big league ready. Due to the fact that he didn’t sign a contract this past offseason, Fister hasn’t been pitching competitively anywhere and isn’t likely to be ready to step right onto a big league pitching staff.
Pitching depth is a clear area of need for the Halos, who entered the season with Andrew Heaney and Nick Tropeano mending from Tommy John surgery and have since lost Garrett Richards (biceps strain) and Tyler Skaggs (oblique strain) to long-term injuries. (Skaggs, who is expected to miss more than two months, could be moved to the 60-day DL to create room for Fister on the 40-man roster).
With those four arms on the shelf, the Halos have been utilizing Ricky Nolasco, Matt Shoemaker, J.C. Ramirez, Jesse Chavez and Alex Meyer in the starting rotation. Fister could conceivably step into the spot of either Chavez or Meyer, though he could also begin the year in a long relief role if the Halos’ incumbent starters are performing well by the time he’s ready to join the staff.
It came as something of a surprise when Fister went unsigned this winter. Perhaps the veteran was holding out in hopes of securing a MLB roster spot, as he has now done. Whatever the reason, there ere plenty of organizations that surely would’ve liked to bring him in to compete in camp. After all, he was a high-quality starter as recently as 2014, when he gave the Nationals 164 innings of 2.41 ERA pitching.
That’s not to say that Fister had entered the open market on a high note. He inked a one-year, make-good deal with the Astros last year after struggling (and losing velocity) in 2015. Things did not go as hoped, as Fister ended with a 4.64 ERA with 5.7 K/9 against an uncharacteristically high 3.1 BB/9.
Looking underneath the hood a bit, that 2016 effort doesn’t look a whole lot better. Fister worked out of the zone less than ever (46.1% versus 52.3% career) even as he drew less chases than he had previously (28.9% versus 32.0% career). His typically strong groundball rates have fallen somewhat over the past two years, with Fister also allowing more dingers (over 1.2 per nine) than he had during his peak years.
If there was a positive to be found in Fister’s 2016 campaign, it was definitely in the health department. He made it through 32 starts for the first time since 2013 and did rebound a bit in the velocity department — though he still averaged about a tick less with the fastball than he did in 2014. If Fister can build on that, with an extra-long winter rest under his belt, then perhaps there’s a resurgence still to be found for the respected veteran.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Suprised fister went this long without a deal. Angels are the perfect spot for him since their rotation is basically wide open
He was on Broadway but he can hit, pitch and recite Shakespeare. This is the best news of the year.. Give Doug credit and a shopping bag.
it’s the right park. guess they move Chavez back to pen potentially as I assume foster only signs if he’s guaranteed a rotation spot.
Why? Chavez is doing ok .. not the best but not terrible either
Chavez as came out of the pen and was not good
*has come
yeah and…?
I mean they could move meyer which is probably likely. the move that makes the most sense though is JC Ramirez moving back to pen in July or them using fister/petit with Ramirez as he won’t be able to throw 150IP
JC has been great. Meyer or depth may make more sense.
Have you actually seen Meyer’s progress? It’s been getting better with each outing, look at his last start
Ramirez has arguably been their best starter…..
Again I hope fister is a backup SP
Yeah, I’ve seen it. Definitely progressing but it’s basically been just the one start. Plus I wouldn’t be surprised if they want to manage inning of someone who doesn’t have the 150+ inning history
Like you said though, I want to see more from Meyer
“It’s the right park” — you mean he won’t have to pitch on the road?
He still has half his starts there. Settle down
This is not a bad signing for the Angels. They still won’t catch Houston, but Fister should help the rotation.
They still won’t catch Houston? Man, and I’m sure everyone thought this is all they were lacking to rival the division leaders.
I’m really hoping this is just backup when things go south. Right now the rotation is doing just fine as is. Don’t mess with the mojo
Well said
Agreed
The one spot that still isn’t solid by any means is Alex Meyer. He had a great outing in his last start but still has yet to show he can do that regularly. But keep in mind that Fister probably won’t be up until June because he needs a late spring training to get himself ready. So current starters will have plenty of time to step up if they need to.
True. But if Meyer keeps doing what he’s doing you can’t demote him. Guy is a lefty who’s throwing gas right now.
He’s a righty. He’s been throwing well recently but he’s historically had command issues hence the like 6.50 ERA in both minors and majors. He just needs more time and he’ll be a good piece to call up. for now, Fister will take his place after his AAA prep assignment.
? If by lefty you mean righty….
I still think Meyer could really use the Wade Davis treatment. Davis always had a great fastball. But had issues as a starter using his other pitches and locating them. Look at Davis now. If you move Meyer to the pen, that gives him the opportunity, not to have to go deep into games. And alloying him to use his fastball more. With less fear of hitters being able to adjust to him.
he could win a metal that way
Sorry i meant righty.. I’m thinking of Skaggs lol
But he was throwing in the upper 90s last start which is my point.
I hope he comes back strong
Astros home runs total just went up with this signing.
So much for landing with a contender; I suspect this is more about opportunity to pitch.
Yeah, I bet he was holding out hope for a better situation but as the calendar crept toward june he just realized he didn’t want to sit out a whole season. Few players come back after sitting out a year, especial marginal players like Fister.
Would be awesome if he turns into a semi legit prospect
really hoping he doesn’t take meyers spot eventually
He will. Really, Meyer is the only fluctuating pitcher in the rotation at this point. Everyone else is consistent (either average or slightly below for that matter). Meyer will be a good piece eventually with more time in AAA. he’s started to find rythem recently but historically he can’t keep it up with his mechanics.
That’s the thing though. If he can get into a groove with his command you might not want to rock the boat with the demotion
Alex Meyer is neither as young or inexperienced as you seem to believe, big hoss. You just need more time and then you’ll say reasonable things.
obviously he hasn’t had a good history. That’s why we got him and nolasco for hector santiago. But there is now reason to have a doug fister in your rotation over a guy with meyers potential if your not contending. And i think we can contend for a wild card, but i’d still rather see what meyer has
Alex Meyer has been in AAA the last 3 years.
Why the hell would you possibly think he can be a good piece if he goes back down? He might never establish himself as a big leaguer but he doesn’t need his reps in AAA, whether in the bullpen or in the rotation he needs to get his cracks against ML hitters. I don’t think he needs a 4th straight year in AAA unless you’d like to leave him there forever.
Don’t really get the idea of bumping Chavez from the rotation when he is leading the team in innings per start and has a better ERA and FIP than Shoemaker, Nolasco, and Meyer.
I predicted this long ago and posted it in other entries on these blogs….
If you want a cookie you’re SOL. I ate em all.
Good for Doug. Hope he has a great season.
Finally! I was waiting for them to do that. I think Doug will add some more depth to the halos and get us a few more victories. good job Billy.
A serious question here, why are most of counting the Angels out already? Now granted catching the Astros won’t be easy. But come on, its not even June. The Angels are in second and have a winning record. And winning the division isn’t the only way to make the playoffs. The Angels defentily need to start winning on the road. And they need Cron and Espinoza to start hitting. And the bullpen to get and stay healthy.
The simple answer is the Astros are just that much better plus you threw out a lot of “ifs.” A lot of ifs involve perfect luck. Add onto that the Astros have a deep farm, accompanied by the extra high end picks from the cards, to make midseason improvements.
Essentially what you see with the Angels is what you’re going to get. They don’t have much in the way of making potential improvements. It’s hard to see them sneaking in ahead of teams like the Orioles, Rangers etc…The Angels started with little depth and the injuries eroded away what sort of left with it. They have way to many holes, and 162 usually has a way of way of exposing flaws.
I’m not saying that they will catch the Astros. As for Baltimore and Texas they have just as many questions as the Angels do. Now Texas has the farm system to be able to trade and get pitching. Baltimore is in the same place the Angles are. And Texas is only a half game a head of the Angels. In not trying to say that the Angels will make the playoffs. All I am saying is that there is no reason to completely count them out.
There’s one big problem with your argument. It’s that the Astros are thriving on the luck of having a rotation full of average at best arms performing behind an ace bouncing back from a bad year. The ifs apply to the Astros as much as any other team. Right now they’re lucky enough to escape injuries to their rotation. And they’ve had the easiest schedule in the history of sports. They will be tested.
RyAn I think most of these fans of other teams, especially Blow Sox and Doyers fans is, they hope the Angels fall so far apart that the Angels trade Trout to their favorite team.
Define average arms because McCullers always has had front end of the rotation stuff. Morton’s also found something. The easiest schedule in sports also applies to the Angels,because the first part of the season involves playing division rivals. So that’s not even a relevant argument. My point was even if they only have three relevant staters they still have the pieces to get 4 and welcome back McHough who is more than enough at 5. And really the ifs for the Astros are nowhere to close to that of the Angels. Now if we were talking about 18 when the Angels welcome back their stable of young SP with money to upgrade the rotation I think it’s a different story.
@angelsfan Stay classy my friend. I in fact do not harbor any illusions that Trout could or ever would be a Dodger. The Dodgers no longer have the front end pieces to even remotely attempt to make a trade. On that end as a Dodgers fan I’m ok welcoming the young kids making an impact. Nobody realistic truly hopes for a Trout trade. In doing so it would relegate a system as barren as the Angels have been. And btw Doyers isn’t really an insult, you might want to upgrade to a high school level of insults.
Espinosa is never gonna start hitting but cron has hope…. and thank you for saying that the angels are good! I almost thought I was the only one (plus RyĀn W Krol and halosfan4ever). The bullpen is great (2 bullpen of the weeks in the last 3 weeks) and Mike Trout is having his best season yet! There is hope for a playoff run.
I honestly lost hope in Cron two years ago. He is a solid player. But he is not good enough to be an every day player. There is nothing he does that you can say, he is consistently good at. Espinoza is about what I expected him to be. Come on the Nationals gave him every opportunity to be an every day player. He just never been to prove that he is good enough to be an every day player. But the Angels will be in contention come September.
He becomes their ACE after 3 starts. Lol
The Halos must be desperate
Desperation is spreading throughout the league with all the injuries piling up. This guy should already be in a major league rotation eating up innings. But it seems like teams overestimated their ability to stay healthy and competitive. Even these dynamic young players around the league could get injured at any time. Angels may have scored on this one.
This can’t be any worse than last year’s Tim Lincecum experiment. Even if Fister fails, Colby Lewis is still available.
Ooh, I wonder if he’ll be pitching this week in San Bernardino?
With no “#1” type pitchers to gripe, when he’s ready to pitch … 6 man pitching staff.
Six man rotation, not staff.