Fister-Furbush is done

And now I need a cigarette. The Tigers acquired pitchers Doug Fister and David Pauley for Casper Wells, Charlie Furbush, minor leage 3B Francisco Martinez, and a PTBNL. On the surface it looks like a wash, but I'm actually getting excited about it. Fister's stats are misleading, especially his 3-12 record. His era, whip, and BB/9 are outstanding. He was the victim of Seattles horrendous offense.

Fister figures to be a 4/5 starter for the foreseeable future. He is under team control until 2015. He isn't the flashy pick like Ubaldo or James Shields, but he didn't cost us Jacob Turner (who looked great yesterday, btw), Nick Castellanos, or a MLB starter like Scherzer or Boesch.

David Pauley is a reliever with starting experience. He is having a great year with a .99 WHIP and 2.15 era. He can hopefully do what David Purcey has been unable to do, which is not suck. He should slot in before Benoit and Valverde, which is a nice back end of the bullpen.

As for who Detroit gave up, the only pieces of note are Martinez and the PTBNL. Casper and Furbush are nice pieces, but figured to top out as AAAA players. Wells provides good defense and a little pop, but didn't get on base enough. Furbush is a swingman, which is easily replaceable right now with guys like Below and Pauley.

Martinez has a chance to be very good. He was 20 years old, and holding his own in AA. But he was blocked in the organization by Castellanos. He is a toolsy boom/bust player, that can blow up in our faces in 7 years. The PTBNL is rumored to be a top 3 pick from 2010. Those players are Castellanos (not happening), Chance Ruffin ( hopefully), or Drew Smyly (most likely). I like Smyly more than Ruffin, which means Seattle probably does too.

All in all, it was a solid move. I don't trust Penny to stay healthy, so depth was needed after Verlander, Scherzer, and Porcello. Below, Fister, and Penny should be able to handle the last two spots. The rotation goes down to 4 in the playoffs, so the odd men out can move to the 'pen.

Also, Fister.....heh heh.