Less than two weeks after Prince Fielder went to the Rangers in exchange for Ian Kinsler, Dave Dombrowski has made another high-profile deal.
CBS Sports baseball correspondent Mike Axisa posts the news Monday night:
The Nationals have acquired right-hander Doug Fister from the Tigers, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com has confirmed. . . . .
Washington has been looking to bolster its rotation behind Stephen Strasburg, Jordan Zimmermann and Gio Gonzalez this offseason and have certainly done that with Fister. Detroit, meanwhile, was shopping a starter in an effort to free up cash and a rotation spot for Drew Smyly. Both teams accomplished their goals with the trade.
Detroit reportedly gets young infielder Steve Lombardozzi and two left-handed pitchers -- Robbie Ray and Ian Krol -- in exchange, according to the Free Press.
Fister, 29, went 14-9 with a 3.67 ERA for Detroit this year season. Since coming from the Seattle Mariners in July 2011, his record was 32-20 with a 3.29 ERA in 70 appearances (68 starts).
Axisa notes that the Tigers "still have a powerful rotation led by Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer and Anibal Sanchez."
Monday night's surprise sparked heated debates online.
"This is a BIG mistake," posts Duane Bitner of Detroit, a purchasing executive at Ford. "You can NEVER have too much good pitching, and Fister is inexpensive good pitching. I don't get it, I really don't. DD has gone insane I guess."
Nick Charters of Ann Arbor defends the team president, CEO and general manager at the Freep's site:
"Look at all the moves Dave D has made since he's been here. He's been a magician, and if you don't like the move you just have to trust that he is doing the right thing. One thing is for sure, he's nowhere near done making moves."
