Fister, who turns 32 at the beginning of February, spent the last two seasons with the Washington Nationals after coming over in a trade with the Detroit Tigers.
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He was 5-7 with a 4.19 ERA in 15 starts and 10 relief appearances last season for Washington. The deal has been reported to be worth million with a chance for Fister to reach $12 million with performance-based incentives. But you’re not going to throw too many 86-mph fastballs past big league hitters, and Fister’s strikeout rate has declined from 20.4 percent in 2012 to 14.0 percent previous year. Astros General Manager Jeff Luhnow announced the agreement and said Fister carries a tremendous track record. “There were other options out there”. Since the deal is short term and isn’t burdensome, the Astros can still make a splash towards the end of the free agent period if they feel inclined. In 2014, Fister finished eighth in the National League in Cy Young voting, posting a 2.41 ERA (albeit with a much worse 3.93 FIP) across 25 starts. He has a career ERA of 2.60 in the playoffs and his 1.77 walks per-nine innings is the lowest among active pitchers with 1,000 or more innings pitched.
What we don’t know are what the medical reports say about Fister’s elbow.
As if all that wasn’t enough, Fister brings a veteran presence to a relatively young Astros starting rotation, which features Dallas Keuchel (28), Collin McHugh (28) and Lance McCullers (22).
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Look for Fister to bump Scott Feldman out of the rotation into the bullpen, where Feldman will serve in a long-relief role. “Kind of sets the tone for everybody”.
