St. Louis Cardinals: Why shouldn’t the Cards kick the tires on Doug Fister?

The Astros had a decent season out of the back end of their rotation with an ERA of 4.64 and now this arm is a free agent and is still unsigned today. Should the St. Louis Cardinals take a look at this arm?
The St. Louis Cardinals will likely need to start scratching their heads in regard to Adam Wainwright; can he stay in the rotation or should he slide back out to the pen or is he quickly approaching the end of his career? While it might not be time to panic, there could also be another option laying in the free agent market.
In today’s wake of the organization suspension of Matt Harvey by the Mets, the name Doug Fister has become even hotter. The Mets are rumored to be interested in the veteran pitcher as they could definitely use his services.
Could the St. Louis Cardinals be in a similar boat? While the Cards do not have a suspended player, they do have an arm in the rotation that hasn’t been as sharp as in the past. Wainwright is suffering of late with his command- albeit he is starting to look better- and currently owns a 6.30 ERA through six games and thirty innings pitched.
This is not the making of an ace and has many- me included- wondering if Waino’s age is catching up with him. Waino is thirty-five years old and has a contract through 2018. While I believe he will retire a Cardinal, I’m not sure he can survive (at least not with his current pitching) through his contract nor face an extension.
Since his Achilles injury and likely too quick rehab and return, Wainwright simply hasn’t been the same. Prior to the injury, Waino posted ERAs between 1.61 and 3.70. After his injury, his ERAs have posted at 4.62 (2016) and the current 6.30. Ouch. I’m not sure the St. Louis Cardinals can continue this arm in the rotation too much longer, especially when others- Mike Leake and Lance Lynn– are posting shutdown seasons.
Back to Fister… While he hasn’t been outstanding, Fister might slide into the five spot for the 2017 season and post around a 4.00 ERA making that spot far more of service than Wainwright’s 6+ ERA. That said, should the Cardinals consider this?
Let’s look at his numbers:
Year | Age | Tm | Lg | W | L | W-L% | ERA | G | GS | GF | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | R | ER | HR | BB | IBB | SO | HBP | BK | WP | BF | ERA+ | FIP | WHIP | H9 | HR9 | BB9 | SO9 | SO/W | Awards |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2009 | 25 | SEA | AL | 3 | 4 | .429 | 4.13 | 11 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 61.0 | 63 | 29 | 28 | 11 | 15 | 0 | 36 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 256 | 103 | 5.10 | 1.279 | 9.3 | 1.6 | 2.2 | 5.3 | 2.40 | |
2010 | 26 | SEA | AL | 6 | 14 | .300 | 4.11 | 28 | 28 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 171.0 | 187 | 85 | 78 | 13 | 32 | 2 | 93 | 6 | 3 | 8 | 720 | 96 | 3.65 | 1.281 | 9.8 | 0.7 | 1.7 | 4.9 | 2.91 | |
2011 | 27 | TOT | AL | 11 | 13 | .458 | 2.83 | 32 | 31 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 216.1 | 193 | 76 | 68 | 11 | 37 | 2 | 146 | 12 | 1 | 3 | 875 | 138 | 3.02 | 1.063 | 8.0 | 0.5 | 1.5 | 6.1 | 3.95 | |
2011 | 27 | SEA | AL | 3 | 12 | .200 | 3.33 | 21 | 21 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 146.0 | 139 | 57 | 54 | 7 | 32 | 2 | 89 | 9 | 1 | 3 | 602 | 113 | 3.27 | 1.171 | 8.6 | 0.4 | 2.0 | 5.5 | 2.78 | |
2011 | 27 | DET | AL | 8 | 1 | .889 | 1.79 | 11 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 70.1 | 54 | 19 | 14 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 57 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 273 | 231 | 2.48 | 0.839 | 6.9 | 0.5 | 0.6 | 7.3 | 11.40 | |
2012 | 28 | DET | AL | 10 | 10 | .500 | 3.45 | 26 | 26 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 161.2 | 156 | 73 | 62 | 15 | 37 | 1 | 137 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 673 | 123 | 3.42 | 1.194 | 8.7 | 0.8 | 2.1 | 7.6 | 3.70 | |
2013 | 29 | DET | AL | 14 | 9 | .609 | 3.67 | 33 | 32 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 208.2 | 229 | 91 | 85 | 14 | 44 | 2 | 159 | 16 | 0 | 7 | 881 | 113 | 3.26 | 1.308 | 9.9 | 0.6 | 1.9 | 6.9 | 3.61 | |
2014 | 30 | WSN | NL | 16 | 6 | .727 | 2.41 | 25 | 25 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 164.0 | 153 | 52 | 44 | 18 | 24 | 0 | 98 | 7 | 0 | 5 | 662 | 155 | 3.93 | 1.079 | 8.4 | 1.0 | 1.3 | 5.4 | 4.08 | CYA-8 |
2015 | 31 | WSN | NL | 5 | 7 | .417 | 4.19 | 25 | 15 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 103.0 | 120 | 56 | 48 | 14 | 24 | 3 | 63 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 449 | 95 | 4.55 | 1.398 | 10.5 | 1.2 | 2.1 | 5.5 | 2.63 | |
2016 | 32 | HOU | AL | 12 | 13 | .480 | 4.64 | 32 | 32 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 180.1 | 195 | 98 | 93 | 24 | 62 | 1 | 115 | 7 | 0 | 10 | 779 | 85 | 4.75 | 1.425 | 9.7 | 1.2 | 3.1 | 5.7 | 1.85 | |
8 Yrs | 77 | 76 | .503 | 3.60 | 212 | 199 | 3 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 1266.0 | 1296 | 560 | 506 | 120 | 275 | 11 | 847 | 63 | 4 | 36 | 5295 | 111 | 3.78 | 1.241 | 9.2 | 0.9 | 2.0 | 6.0 | 3.08 | ||||
162 Game Avg. | 13 | 13 | .503 | 3.60 | 35 | 33 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 209 | 214 | 93 | 84 | 20 | 45 | 2 | 140 | 10 | 1 | 6 | 876 | 111 | 3.78 | 1.241 | 9.2 | 0.9 | 2.0 | 6.0 | 3.08 | ||||
SEA (3 yrs) | 12 | 30 | .286 | 3.81 | 60 | 59 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 378.0 | 389 | 171 | 160 | 31 | 79 | 4 | 218 | 17 | 4 | 12 | 1578 | 103 | 3.74 | 1.238 | 9.3 | 0.7 | 1.9 | 5.2 | 2.76 | ||||
DET (3 yrs) | 32 | 20 | .615 | 3.29 | 70 | 68 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 440.2 | 439 | 183 | 161 | 33 | 86 | 3 | 353 | 26 | 0 | 8 | 1827 | 128 | 3.20 | 1.191 | 9.0 | 0.7 | 1.8 | 7.2 | 4.10 | ||||
WSN (2 yrs) | 21 | 13 | .618 | 3.10 | 50 | 40 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 267.0 | 273 | 108 | 92 | 32 | 48 | 3 | 161 | 13 | 0 | 6 | 1111 | 124 | 4.17 | 1.202 | 9.2 | 1.1 | 1.6 | 5.4 | 3.35 | ||||
HOU (1 yr) | 12 | 13 | .480 | 4.64 | 32 | 32 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 180.1 | 195 | 98 | 93 | 24 | 62 | 1 | 115 | 7 | 0 | 10 | 779 | 85 | 4.75 | 1.425 | 9.7 | 1.2 | 3.1 | 5.7 | 1.85 | ||||
AL (6 yrs) | 56 | 63 | .471 | 3.73 | 162 | 159 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 999.0 | 1023 | 452 | 414 | 88 | 227 | 8 | 686 | 50 | 4 | 30 | 4184 | 109 | 3.68 | 1.251 | 9.2 | 0.8 | 2.0 | 6.2 | 3.02 | ||||
NL (2 yrs) | 21 | 13 | .618 | 3.10 | 50 | 40 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 267.0 | 273 | 108 | 92 | 32 | 48 | 3 | 161 | 13 | 0 | 6 | 1111 | 124 | 4.17 | 1.202 | 9.2 | 1.1 | 1.6 | 5.4 | 3.35 |
Notice that Fister has hovered around a 4.00 ERA in his career but will this mean that he will bring it with him to St. Louis?
A major red flag is likely sitting in the reason for him not signing again with Houston after 2016. Another flag is the fact that he remains a free agent: why didn’t a squad pick him up before now?
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That having been said, Fister held a workout this past week and five teams were present to see him. These teams included the Angels, Blue Jays, Diamondbacks, Mets, and the Giants. All of these clubs have true needs. All five teams have starting arms now sitting on the disabled list and/or out for the entire season.
The St. Louis Cardinals do not have this situation facing them. In addition, the Cardinals have a few arms sitting in Memphis who could well fill Wainwright’s spot if Waino continues his struggles. These include Luke Weaver and Daniel Poncedeleon and Arturo Reyes. These three names are most likely the reason why the Cardinals should avoid the Fister name.
What do you think? Should the Cardinals kick the tires? Should they avoid this name? Let me know on Twitter and thanks for reading!