Detroit Tigers at the Deadline: Team Improves, but Was Cost Too High?

Much has been made about the Detroit Tigers' recent move that landed Doug Fister and David Pauley from Seattle.

The pundits have weighed in and the verdicts range from high marks to low ones. Some people have praised the Tigers for prying away a quality pitcher from the Mariners.

However, many more have questioned the move. The Tigers appear to have given up four of their top 10 prospects for a middle-of-the-road starter and an average reliever, or so the argument goes.

I will admit that I was stunned that the Tigers dealt for Fister, and I was equally stunned by the bounty that it took. And if it ends up costing the team Chance Ruffin, it will be a truly tough pill to swallow.

But make no mistake about it, Fister is a quality arm. I have been watching the lanky righty for a couple years now (as I live in the Pacific Northwest), and trust me, the fans love him out here. He isn't going to blow you away with his repertoire, but he hits his spots.

He also eats up innings. Of his 21 starts this year, only three have failed to go six innings, and all three were one out away from reaching that plateau.

In fact, he hasn't failed to reach six full innings pitched since early May.

He also doesn't walk many hitters. He has only walked more than two hitters in a game three times, and only once in the last month and a half.

This kid is a real big-league pitcher today, and someone that will give the Tigers a legitimate back of the rotation for a few years.

And that is the part about this deal that makes the most sense to Detroit. Fister will be around for a few more years, and for a very cheap price. Therefore, four of the Tigers' starters are under contract for the next few years.

With a little luck and some hard work, the Tigers could be looking at their own version of some of the power house rotations of the last couple decades, from the Braves to the A's to the Cardinals.

Make no mistake about it, this trade scares the other teams in the division.

Pauley is a little harder to figure out. He has had a very good year, but has struggled of late, giving up at least a run in two of his last three games.

But at the very least, he gives us another option instead of David Purcey coming out of the bullpen.

So everyone and their sister is complaining that this move could blow up in our faces like the Doyle Alexander move. But to that, it is important to remember that this is not an expensive deal that only brings back a one year rental.

Fister isn't going anywhere.

This also isn't a deal that leaves our minor league teams barren. We still have a ton of quality players from Jacob Turner to Nick Castellanos to Andy Oliver. Not to mention the fact that we haven't had a first-round pick in two years because of free agency, and we still have a stacked farm system.

Just think how much better the farm will look in a year when we have another crop of high draft picks, presumably with a true No. 1 pick as well.

Trust me, I know how much this trade cost us. I was excited about each of the young guys that we dealt. When Mariners fans ask me about the players they received, I can't help but begrudgingly congratulate them on their haul.

But this is a win now situation, and a deal that not only makes this team better now, but it makes us better next year and the year after that.

And while the M's fans are cautiously optimistic about the quality of their prospects, they leave me with a thought that can't help but make me smile.

To a man, they say the same thing: "You guys are gonna love Fister!"