The Detroit Tigers are looking everywhere for starting pitching and the newest name to their search is Doug Fister of Seattle Mariners.
Why would Detroit be interested? For one, Fister is a talented young pitcher who has excelled in his first two full seasons with Seattle. He keeps the ball on the ground (45.9% career ground ball rate) and in the ballpark (7.0% FB/HR rate). His ERA is a bit inflated because of poor defense and a hitter-friendly Safeco Field, though his xFIP of 4.01 the last two seasons has been solid.
Where are these rumors coming from? Look no further than Jon Morosi's tweet from earlier Friday:
#Tigers and #Mariners engaged in active trade talks, source tells FOXSports.com. Detroit has interest in Fister and a reliever.
Fister would not come cheap should Detroit try to acquire him. The right-handed pitcher is cheap and under team control through 2015 and has impressed many of his peers in Seattle. At the same time, though, the Mariners are desperate to add capable hitters to their organization and could be tempted to do so in a deal with the Tigers.