Oakland Athletics Should Consider Signing Doug Fister As Trade Chip At 2016 Deadline

Doug Fister is still a free agent, and a really good fit for him could be the Oakland Athletics on a one or even two-year contract.

Why Oakland? Aren’t they rebuilding? Well, exactly. Taking a page out of Theo Epstein‘s book, Fister is the perfect pitcher to sign and then flip at the trade deadline for prospects. Look at what the Cubs were able to do with the likes of Jason Hammel and Scott Feldman; they started to rebuild their system on one-year fliers, and is that not what Fister is right now?

Look, he’s coming off a terrible season. I think anyone with half a brain could tell you that. At the same time, he’s had a fairly productive career as a mid- to back-end starter, and is the perfect fit for an organization like Oakland that won’t compete for the next few seasons. He’s going to be motivated to pitch his tail off to secure a much more lucrative contract next winter, and that’s the perfect guy to potentially fleece an all-in team with next summer.

The best way for Oakland to rebuild quickly is through the system because well, that’s what they do. Fister could be a big part of that and is well worth the gamble. Let’s see what Mr. Moneyball (Billy Beane) has up his sleeve. I can’t see him being content to stand pat with this many big names left on the market.