DETROIT — The Detroit Tigers offseason of change continues.
The Tigers traded starting pitcher Doug Fister to the Washington Nationals for lefthanded starter Robbie Ray, lefthanded reliever Ian Krol and utility player Steve Lombardozzi.
“We are excited to be adding three solid players to the organization,” said Tigers President, CEO and General Manager Dave Dombrowski in a team release announcing the trade. “Robbie is a premium pitching prospect, Ian adds a quality lefthanded young arm for the bullpen and Steve provides our ballclub with versatility in several roles as a switch-hitting utility man.”
The trade allows for the Tigers to move southpaw Drew Smyly into the 2014 starting rotation. Ray and Krol are both 22-years old while Lombardozzi is 25-years old.
Fister joined the Tigers in the middle of the 2011 season following a trade with the Seattle Mariners and went 8-1 with the Tigers in the final few months of that season with a 1.79 ERA and a 0.839 WHIP. Fister was 32-20 with a 3.29 ERA during his full time with the Tigers including a record of 14-9 and an ERA of 3.67 in 2013.
