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Report: Tigers among teams showing interest in Fister

Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

Though the Detroit Tigers traded Doug Fister to Washington for a fairly underwhelming package two years ago, the club is reportedly interested in reuniting with the 31-year-old right-hander this offseason.

Fister, a free agent who crafted a 3.29 ERA (128 ERA+) in Detroit from 2011 to 2013, is once again drawing interest from the Tigers, as well as some other teams, reports ESPN's Buster Olney. Despite finishing eighth in National League Cy Young voting in 2014, Fister didn't receive a qualifying offer from the Nationals when his contract expired and, consequently, won't be tied to draft-pick compensation.

Fister's regression in 2015 likely deterred the Nationals from extending him the one-year, $15.8-million offer, as he posted career-worst marks in both ERA (4.19) and WHIP (1.40) while logging his fewest innings since his 2009 debut campaign. A flexor strain sidelined him for more than four weeks in the first half of the season, and after stumbling to a 4.86 ERA in his first eight starts back from the disabled list, Fister was relegated to the bullpen for the remainder of the campaign.

Still, despite his rough performance this season, Fister owns a 3.42 ERA (117 ERA+) over parts of seven seasons in the majors and ranks among the game's top-15 starters in both ground-ball rate (50.3 percent) and walk rate (4.6 percent) since 2013.

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