The MLB offseason is starting to heat up a bit and after players like Prince Fielder, Ian Kinsler and David Freese were traded, another two players are on their way to new teams, as Jim Johnson was dealt by the Orioles to the Rays, while Doug Fister was traded to the Washington Nationals by the Tigers.
The news on Fister came late Monday evening and saw the Tigers pitcher get dealt to the Washington Nationals in a four-player deal, which included infielder Steve Lombardozzi and pitcher Ian Krol. According to ESPN.com, Fister was traded on Monday night and the move likely was made to give the Tigers more room financially to sign Max Scherzer to an extension, which was also a reason why the team traded Fielder. Scherzer was a trade candidate before Fielder was moved, but as a Cy Young winner, Detroit wants to lock him up and now ESPN reports that the team will save near $6 million, since Fister was eligible for arbitration.
The Nationals were expected to be in the market for pitching this offseason and the team has been mentioned in reports about David Price, but now they have acquired Fister to add to a rotation that includes Gio Gonzalez, Stephen Strasburg and Jordan Zimmerman and now the Tigers will be moving Drew Smyly into the pitching rotation in Fister's place. The Tigers reportedly shopped Rick Porcello this offseason as well and now that Fister has moved, he could also be traded as the team works to sign Scherzer to an extension. Most in the media feel that the Nationals got the better end of the deal, but if the Tigers wanted to lock up Scherzer long term rather than Fister, it makes sense.
Last season the 29-year-old had a solid season for the Tigers, winning 14 games with a 3.67 ERA and he had 33 starts while also performing well in the playoffs. The Nationals now add another solid starter to their already stacked rotation. Reports this week said that the Baltimore Orioles are shopping closer Jim Johnson to teams like the Los Angeles Dodgers and the New York Yankees and now he is heading to Oakland to play for the Athletics. Johnson has had 50 saves in each of the last two seasons and was an All-Star in 2012 and a team like the Yankees could have used a closer like him after Mariano Rivera retired and now they could go after the former A's closer in Grant Balfour.
The Angels already made a move acquiring third baseman David Freese from the St. Louis Cardinals and now Jon Heyman from CBS Sports is reporting that Mark Trumbo and Howie Kendrick are two players that also are available. Heyman writes that the Angels likely will try and trade for pitching and that a number of teams are interested in Trumbo, including the Boston Red Sox, Colorado Rockies, Tampa Bay Rays, Milwaukee Brewers and Houston Astros as well as the Tampa Bay Rays.
