Is It Time For The Nationals To Trade Doug Fister?

So far this winter, we have seen the Washington Nationals trade some of their starting pitching depth when they dealt Ross Detwiler to the Texas Rangers for a pair of prospects. Detwiler hadn’t been a prominent starter with the team since 2012, but could it be a sign that the Nats trade another pitcher? Even with this trade, Washington still has one of the best rotations in the National League led by Jordan Zimmermann and Stephen Strasburg.

Plus, Washington has a ton of prospect depth at starting pitcher with guys like Taylor Jordan, A.J. Cole, and Lucas Giolito waiting in the wings. While all the trade rumors have been focused around Zimmermann, I would argue that the Nats should trade another pitcher that they have only had on their team for one full season.

The pitcher I am talking about is Doug Fister. Last offseason, the Nationals acquired Fister in a trade with the Detroit Tigers in exchange for relievers Robbie Ray (now in Arizona) and Ian Krol, as well as, infielder Steve Lombardozzi. General Manager Mike Rizzo has seemed to got the better end of that deal, as evidenced by the 30-year old pitcher going 16-6 with a 2.41 ERA in 25 games.

Even with the great season that Fister had and a shutout of the Giants in the NLDS last season (outdueled Madison Bumgarner), he might be the player that could bring the most back to the Nats in a trade out of their secondary starters.

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One of the things you can’t ignore about this possibility is that Fister is in his third year of arbitration. According to MLB Trade Rumors’ Nats’ Offseason Outlook, they project the righty to make $11.4 million next season. If Washington doesn’t look to extend him, they could send Fister to another team and have that money to put towards an extension for one of their two top pitchers.

I got to watch Doug Fister in person back in the 2011 ALDS when the Detroit Tigers played the Yankees at Yankee Stadium. During that resumption of Game 1, Fister impressed me, even in a loss. Even though he gave up six runs on seven hits in 4.2 innings, he still struck out six Yankees. He would come back in Game 5 and throw five innings of one-run ball to win the series for Detroit.

It seems a mutual fit in terms of a team that needs Fister and has prospects that could replenish the Nats’ depth in the minor league would be the aforementioned Yankees. Ideally, Washington could look to get back a couple of prospects, with the main piece of a trade being Yankees’ catcher Gary Sanchez.

The Bronx Bombers have a ton of catching depth and Sanchez has been in AA Trenton each of the last two seasons. In 2014, the 21-year old hit .270 with 13 home runs and 65 RBI’s in 110 games. With Wilson Ramos only having two years left on his deal, could Sanchez be the kind of player that would be the team’s catcher down the road? Washington does have Jakson Reetz, a top ten prospect in their system, according to MLB Pipeline. However, Reetz is only 19 years old and has not made it past rookie ball yet

The Yankees also make sense for Fister because of the familiarity they have with him. New York actually drafted him in the sixth round of the 2005 MLB Draft, but they were not able to sign him.

While the Nationals could always make a qualifying offer to Fister next offseason and get a first round pick in return, GM Mike Rizzo has to decide which of his players he is willing to extend and be part of their future and the ones that will help him improve the farm system. Which category will Fister end up being on by this time next year at the latest?