Fisting in the NL East

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

That's all it took to get Doug Fister into a Nationals uniform?

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Yeah I like Fister. The Tigers are always making daring trades, I guess the hope here is this one blows up in the Nats' face.

[Frayed Knot]

WOW! Seems to me like a good deal for the Nats. Added a solid starter to a rotation that already had Strasberg, Zimermann, Gonzalez, and Detwiler without taking anyone off their everyday roster.
I know they (the Nats) liked Krol but he one day hopes to be the pitcher that Fister already is, and Lombardozzi, while versatile, seemed to get hung with the Joe McEwing white-'n-scrappy tag (especially by Nats announcers) which tended to credit him with contributions far beyond what his actual output suggests. Don't know much about the other guy, maybe he's the one the Tiggers really wanted.

Meanwhile, if I'm Matt Scherzer's agent, between this deal and the Prince Fielder one I gotta be saying Ka-CHING!! over these recent developments as suddenly the money's there and the logical replacement pitcher is not. To me it sounds like the team is all-in on re-signing Scherzer.

[Lefty Specialist]

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: Yeah I like Fister. The Tigers are always making daring trades, I guess the hope here is this one blows up in the Nats' face.

Fister pitched pretty well against the Mets in the game that featured Dice-K's self-immolating debut...I think this is a solid pickup for the Nats.

[Guest Mets Guy in Michigan]

I learned something at work today that makes me think there is a reason for the Tigers shedding salary, between this deal and Fielder. I probably can't say. But from what I've been told, it will be apparent before too long. More to this than meets the eye.

[G-Fafif]

metsguyinmichigan wrote: I learned something at work today that makes me think there is a reason for the Tigers shedding salary, between this deal and Fielder. I probably can't say. But from what I've been told, it will be apparent before too long. More to this than meets the eye.

Just refer knowingly to "Tigers people" like Martino would.

[Edgy MD]

Oh, dear me. Intrigue!

[list:tmms0yzj][*:tmms0yzj]Fister's been sneaking around with a member of the governor's family?[/*:m:tmms0yzj]
[*:tmms0yzj]Mike Illitch is selling?[/*:m:tmms0yzj]
[*:tmms0yzj]Tiggs are making a deal for A-Rod?[/*:m:tmms0yzj][/list:u:tmms0yzj]

Spit it out, Michigan.

[Frayed Knot]

Edgy MD wrote: Fister's been sneaking around with a member of the governor's family?

I like to think he killed a man, it's the romantic in me.



I'm going with: Are working on a deal for TB's David Price with an extension to follow.

[Frayed Knot]

Robby Ray

From BA:
Robbie Ray, LHP, Age: 22 -- Selected by Nationals in 12th round of 2010 draft; signed Aug. 17, 2010.
After a terrible 2012, Ray bounced back with a solid 2013 to jump into the Nationals� Top 10. In our scouting report, Aaron Fitt noted, �Ray�s plus fastball, athleticism and durable frame give him a chance to be a mid-rotation starter if he can develop his breaking ball.� Ray�s fastball sits in the 91-96 mph range and he knows how to pitch off it well. His changeup plays above-average, and he has a loose arm that encourages scouts� projections on his future command. His breaking ball earns below-average grades, though.


Nationals have two years of control on Fister.

[Zvon]

I consider this a frustrating event.

[Benjamin Grimm]

Frayed Knot wrote: I like to think he killed a man, it's the romantic in me.

Nice!

[smg58]

It's a head-shaker from the Tigers' perspective, that's for sure. I can't imagine there aren't teams out there who'd have offered more than that. But hey, tip your hat to the Nats for what looks like an excellent trade.

[Edgy MD]

So, in Scratch-That-Itch Theater, what's the Mets equivalent of that package? Justin Turner, Josh Edgin, and Jake deGrom?

Seems like Ray is a better asset than deGrom, but perhaps less than Montero. Matz maybe?

[Vic Sage]

keep your hands off Matz. Not only does he have a high ceiling, he's from the town of Stony Brook!

[Edgy MD]

You're the worst TITTS chairman ever!

Really, this isn't about proposing anything. The deal is done so this is just an exercise of what-would-be-the-equivalent-Metly-package-and-would-we-have-happily-paid-it. If, then, the equivalent is Turner/Edgin/Matz, we get an emotional NO! from Vic Sage. That's alright.

[Vic Sage]

i'm just joshin' ya.

I don't know about this Ray fellow, but as a 10th round pick with a bad year behind him, with a fastball/change mix and no 3rd pitch, i think Matz is worth more than him as a prospect, and so DeGrom is probably a closer comp. Ray is a 22-year old LHer, so that makes him more valuable perhaps, but with 2 pitches, he's likely to end up in the bullpen as a LOOGY, if he ever makes it at all.

[ashie62]

They also got Ian Krol....dont know him...

[Frayed Knot]

Nats sign Nate McLouth to a two-year deal - not actually official yet, pending physical blah, blah

Good move for the Nats, I think, as the difference between what they got from their bench last year as compared to 2012 was maybe the biggest reason they failed to win the division most people predicted for them. Kind of strange to see McLouth, 32 / LHB, lock himself into a deal where he's almost certainly not going to start ahead of Werth, Harper, or Span, but I guess he didn't see a starter's job anywhere else. That he's capable of filling in at any or all of the three OF spots means he'll get at least some playing time (hell, Lombardozzi got 300 ABs last year and he can't hit) and more if one of the above gets hurt.