Fairservice: Fister trade is about dollars, not sense

The Detroit Tigers had one of the best rotations in baseball last season. Probably the best, if we're being honest. Keeping such a juggernaut together takes money, however. Lots of money. 

Justin Verlander makes a mint, Max Scherzer is due a mint, Anibal Sanchez just signed for 5/6 of a mint, Rick Porcello is a Super Two which puts him on the fast track to mintdom. Which leaves Doug Fister, who just happens to be an excellent pitcher. 

Having excellent pitchers is great for baseball business but having all those expensive arms in the fold was bound to catch up at some point. Rather than moving Porcello, it is Fister the Tigers opted to swap, sending him to Washington to join the the new Best Rotation in Baseball. 

The package in exchange for the ground ball machine/very good pitcher Doug Fister seems light, mostly because we don't know as much as about Robbie Ray as we should. This is the second time Doug Fister's been traded for an oddly underwhelming package.

The Tigers just dumped Prince Fielder's enormous contract and are now leaning heavily on the likes of Drew Smyly to fill out their rotation. Even the spendiest, most "Flags Fly Forever" team around has its limits. 

The Nationals give up a prospect (thought they have plenty) and gear up for another run back towards the playoffs. They started 2013 as the "best team on paper" and it got them bubkas. Now they've replaced Dan Haren with Doug Fister, only making them better for 2014. 

Lots of head scratching over the package Detroit received but GM Dave Dombrowski deserves more than a little slack. His team is still one of the best in baseball and more than good enough to win their division. Keeping the books in order is part of his job, and moving out a player set to earn around $7MM this season is a step in that direction. 

Dombrowski and his staff must believe the drop-off from Fister to Smyly isn't enough to derail their title aspirations. Or perhaps they really like Robbie Ray and thought this was the best way to bolster their future rotation at a time when they can most afford to weaken the current version. 

The Tigers understand their risks, surely. They know there is no such thing as too much starter depth just as they know that today's pitching prospect is tomorrow's punchline. 

Just as there is no such thing as a pitching prospect, there is also no such thing as too much depth in the starting rotation. Many a potential World Series champ saw their season fall apart after taunting the baseball gods with improper belief that five good starters. The Tigers gave up a good one because even rich teams have their limits.