After watching him pitch three very solid seasons and postseasons for the Detroit Tigers, the Washington Nationals traded for starting pitcher Doug Fister last offseason with the hopes that he would join an already very talented pitching staff and help bring the Nationals to the World Series. The Nationals made the postseason this year with huge success from Fister, who was 16-6 with a 2.41 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, and 4.5 WAR.
The Nationals began contract extension talks with the right hander immediately upon acquiring him last December. However, as the Washington Post's James Wagner notes, those talks broke down early in the season. Fister becomes a costless agent for the first time after the 2015 season ends, and at this point, there is no communication between the sides regarding extending his contract and ensuring that he stays in the nation's capital.
Fister is eligible for salary arbitration for the third time later in this offseason. He made $7.2 million this past year, and after his 2014 performance, which included the Nationals' only win in the NLDS (no runs in seven innings), he will certainly receive a huge raise. What he ends up making next year through the arbitration process will very likely become a precursor to the type of contract that he will seek should he become a costless agent at the end of the season.
Wagner also notes that Fister "remains open to staying with the Nationals beyond 2015." The Nationals worked very hard in the past few seasons to make sure that they became perennial contenders, and even though they fell short of the World Series each year, they have won two division titles and finished second once in the past three years. Much of that success stems from what Wagner calls "the best starting rotation in baseball." That rotation touts big names such as Stephen Strasburg, Gio Gonzalez, Jordan Zimmermann (assuming he stays), and Tanner Roark along with Fister.
In his career, Fister touts a record of 60-56, but that includes his first two years with the Seattle Mariners from 2009-2010 when the Mariners were in a very rough stretch. Since then, he is 51-38 with a 3.11 ERA and 1.16 WHIP with the Mariners, Tigers, and Nationals. He is 4-2 with a 2.60 ERA in nine postseason games (eight starts).
The Nationals would do very well to extend Fister, who turns 31 just before Spring Training begins. Zimmermann could end up elsewhere even before the start of the new season. Strasburg becomes a costless agent after 2016, but the Nationals would certainly try to extend him before that time comes. Losing both of them would deplete the rotation, so ensuring that they keep Fister around for a number of years would help alleviate some of those losses should they occur. Should all three stay, then the Nationals might finally make those World Series dreams come true.