We finally have a signing in the MLB. Matter-of-fact, we have TWO signings. But, they both are sorta minor, unless you are a baseball junkie like me. The two signings are that RHP (starter) Doug Fister, formerly on the Boston Red Sox, joining with the Texas Rangers, and RHP (starter) Hisashi Iwakuma signing a minor league deal with his 2017 team, the Seattle Mariners.
Here are the details on Fister\’s deal. It\’s a one year deal, with $4 million guaranteed. Plus, there is a $7 million club option for 2019. Both years have incentives included. Now, onto the part why the Rangers went after him.
The Rangers desperately need starters. They traded current free agent Yu Darvish at the deadline, leaving them with Cole Hamels as their best starter, and the only one who\’s decent. Fister is a solid 3-5 starter. They still need a number two. I could see them going after a Jeremy Hellickson, C.C. Sabathia or re-signing Andrew Cashner or Miguel Gonzalez for starting depth. Or, try to get Darvish back. It\’s a nice, cheap deal.
Fister, 33, had a 4.88 ERA, 1.38 WHIP and 83 strikeouts in 90.1 innings for the Sox in 2017. In his MLB career for the Red Sox, Houston Astros, Washington Nationals, Detroit Tigers and Seattle Mariners, Fister has a 3.68 ERA, 1.25 WHIP and 930 strikeouts in 1356.1 innings.
For Iwakuma, the only reason I think he\’d agree to this is because he loved Seattle. He could get a better deal elsewhere. Also since he\’s old, and has injury history, he was worried he\’d be left unsigned.
Iwakuma, 36, had a 4.35 ERA, 1.26 WHIP and 16 strikeouts in just 31 innings in 2017. In his MLB career, all in Seattle, Iwakuma has an ERA of 3.42, with a 1.14 WHIP and 714 strikeouts in 883.2 innings.
CarterHud 