Rangers Add Rotation Depth With Doug Fister

Doug Fister: 5-9, 4.88 ERA, 1.38 WHIP, 83/38 K/BB, 90.1 IP
Contract: 1 Year, $3.5 million plus incentives, club option for 2019

The Rangers added to their rotation depth with Doug Fister, a 33 year old righty who has had success in the past but is bit of a wild card for 2018. Texas' rotation is one of the worst in baseball, led by ace Cole Hamels (4.20 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, 148 IP) and #2 starter Martin Perez (4.82 ERA, 1.54 WHIP, 185 IP), so anything out of Fister will be big. Back in 2014 with the Nationals, he went 16-6 with a 2.41 ERA and a 1.08 WHIP, but injuries and inconsistency have kept him from posting an ERA below 4.19 in any of the past three seasons. In 2017, he had a four start stretch from August 22nd to September 6th where he went 3-1 with a 1.50 ERA, a 0.73 WHIP, and a 27/8 strikeout to walk ratio in 30 innings, but he was otherwise fairly ineffective, finishing 5-9 with a 4.88 ERA and a 1.38 WHIP over 18 games (15 starts) for the Red Sox. Also competing for the last three spots in the Texas rotation are Nick Martinez (5.66 ERA, 1.37 WHIP, 111.1 IP), A.J. Griffin (5.94 ERA, 1.34 WHIP, 77.1 IP), Yohander Mendez (5.11 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, 12.1 IP), and the newly acquired Ronald Herrera (6.00 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, 3 IP). It's safe to say that the Rangers will need to acquire a few more rotation arms if they want to compete in 2018. As for Fister, the 6'8" righty out of Fresno State has a career record of 82-85 with a 3.68 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP over 230 games (214 starts) dating back to 2009.