10:11am: Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweets that the Mets are not signing Fister. He characterizes the Angels as one of multiple “serious considerations” for Fister.
9:48am: Free-agent right-hander Doug Fister is close to signing with a yet-unreported team, per Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports (Twitter link). Though Fister has had interest from both the AL and NL, he’s likely to land with a National League club, per Heyman. In a second tweet, Heyman notes that the D-backs are “in the mix” on Fister, adding that he hasn’t heard much tying him to the Mets as of late. SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo tweets that the Mets, D-backs, Giants, Angels and Blue Jays have all been in the mix to varying extents.
From the listed teams, the Mets jump out as the club in most dire need of rotation reinforcements, as New York has lost Noah Syndergaard, Steven Matz and Seth Lugo to injuries already, while right-handers Matt Harvey, Robert Gsellman and Zack Wheeler have all struggled thus far in 2017. The Mets are hopeful that Matz and Lugo will be able to return in late May or early June, though there’s no guarantee that either comes back at full strength just yet. And Wheeler, of course, is on an innings limit in 2017 after missing the entire 2015 and 2016 seasons due to Tommy John surgery.
The D-backs, of course, have had their own brush with injuries, having lost right-hander Shelby Miller for the season due to a torn ulnar collateral ligament that necessitated Tommy John surgery. Arizona, though, seemingly has better depth at the upper levels of its farm, with Braden Shipley, Anthony Banda and Zack Godley among the potential rotation options currently in Triple-A (to say nothing of right-hander Archie Bradley, who is currently in the Major League bullpen but could likely start if deemed necessary).
As for the Giants, they lost Madison Bumgarner for what will likely be most of the first half of the season, if not more, due to a controversial dirtbike accident that resulted in a shoulder injury. None of the Giants’ other starters — Johnny Cueto, Jeff Samardzija, Matt Moore, Matt Cain or Ty Blach — has mustered an ERA south of 4.50 on the season. The Giants also traded one of their upper-level depth options, Clayton Blackburn, to the Rangers earlier this year. However, with Tyler Beede and Chris Stratton both in Triple-A, the Giants do possess some upper-level options should they decide to shuffle the rotation.
The Angels and Blue Jays, of course, both have plenty of cause to seek rotation help as well. However, Heyman seems to suggest that an AL club isn’t as likely, and that’s a logical line of thinking for Fister, who could likely post better numbers in the National League.
It should be noted that Fister is hardly a quick fix for any team’s rotation; the right-hander will almost certainly need a fair amount of time to ramp up before he’s ready to join a Major League rotation. And while he comes with plenty of name value, Fister’s fastball has been in the 86-87 mph range in recent seasons. Unsurprisingly, there’s been a corresponding dip in his effectiveness. Last year he proved a durable rotation piece for the Astros (32 starts) but logged just a 4.64 ERA with 5.7 K/9 against 3.1 BB/9 in 180 1/3 innings.
jdubs346
Please not Toronto … fister would get fisted in the AL east
padresfan
Lol
Honestly
He is better than anything number 2 they have put out this year
jdgoat
What?
lesterdnightfly
Sorry, scatological references are not allowed here.
dudeness88
I guess I’ll have to take u at your word..number 2..
Rickeo02
Please Toronto. Im a sox fan. Lol
ronnsnow
Pirates should be the ones in on him. Who knows how long Taillon will be out and I really dont wanna see Trevor Williams or Drew Hutchison in the rotation
TJECK109
Agreed
hozie007
Would not be surprised to see the Red Sox grab him . . . a little re-uniting with Dombrowski and Porcello. I think they could use another seasoned RHP since Kendrick doesn’t look like a long term solution.
Mikel Grady
Cubs? Anderson injured
ray_derek
Maybe, but I’d be surprised if the Cubs didn’t give Eddie Butler a shot 1st.
Mikel Grady
I like butler. Doing well in AAA. Duane Underwood and pierce Johnson need a shot
DDD09
Fister? I hardly even know her!
SirPartyAnimal
I knew that would pop up XD
tigerfan4ever
Not as bad as the jokes that were made when the Tigers acquired Fister from Seattle and sent Charlie Furbush west.
angels fan 3
Hope it’s not the angels
thegreatcerealfamine
Why not? It’s not like they have quality alternatives.
angels fan 3
I don’t think he is quality either. I would rather just go with what they got
ryanw-2
They need innings and their starting pitching depth has already been depleted by losing Richards and Skaggs again. It’s either Doug Fister or Alex Meyer…
angels fan 3
If fister was ready to pitch in the bigs it would be different
halos101
same… scared of him being lincecum 2.0
angels fan 3
Exactly
ryanw-2
One has nothing to do with the other. Every veteran pitcher comes with that risk any way. And if he turns out to be Lincecum 2.0, they can just send him down or release him.
sidewinder11
DBacks please! We need a replacement for Shelby Miller
AZ14
I wouldn’t mind him pitching for us to hopefully it some innings and be a solid veteran but Godley has a higher GB % and Fister gives up a lot of homers.
fs54
Nationals? Ross has been demoted. I don’t see how they can possibly survive on just Cole and co. They could even put Joe in the bullpen and see if he helps.
redsfan48
I don’t think Ross’s demotion is permanent.
thinkblech
Didn’t just send him down to throw a million changeups away from the bright lights? It’d be fun to watch a start like that.
HarveyD82
I guess he’s too expensive for the Pirates….
terry g
He makes no sense for a team up against the luxury tax or that has starters coming back off the DL in the next month. Who has lost a back of the rotation starter and can wait untl he’s ready?
dshires4
Not an NL team, but why not the Mariners? Triple-A isn’t exactly overflowing with talent ready to take the next step, and we’ve already lost 3 starters to the DL. Iwamuka is no health guarantee. That leaves Miranda and Gallardo, which isn’t inspiring confidence. We have a good outfield defense, so his fly ball rate won’t be detrimental in the large outfield.
AngelFan69
The angels will get him …
hodor 3
Not unless they are moving to the NL!
GeoKaplan
If the Angels wanted/needed a SP with declining fastball speed, it would have been easier to keep Weaver. Fister brings little to the Angels party.
AngelFan69
Wouldn’t Sosh love that?
JaysFan19
Latos better.. no point for jays
sfgiants28
Giants need a outfielder!!!!!