December 3rd, 2013 at 12:16 PM ^
Dombrowski just gets things done.
December 3rd, 2013 at 12:18 PM ^
December 3rd, 2013 at 12:19 PM ^
This is what we needed. The Fister trade is looking a lot better with this one happening too.
December 3rd, 2013 at 12:43 PM ^
Not really. We still got little for him, and he was pretty affordable. A head scratcher.
December 3rd, 2013 at 2:13 PM ^
I don't think we know what we got for Fister yet, as there may be another deal brewing. Regardless, it seems that Fister was scheduled to make about 7M/year in arbitration. Getting Nathan for 10M/year more than replaces Fister's salary, and we've got additional players who can help this year, and a prospect that sounds like he's got a good shot at becoming a reasonable starter down the road.
December 3rd, 2013 at 12:43 PM ^
We all knew a closer signing was coming...how does this improve the Fister trade at all? They are mutually exclusive and affect separate areas of the team (rotation vs. back-end of pen).
December 3rd, 2013 at 12:58 PM ^
There is not an infinite supply of money. We dumped 6-7 million on the deal. We needed a utility infielder to replace Santiago and got a couple of decent prospects in return.
December 3rd, 2013 at 1:52 PM ^
December 3rd, 2013 at 2:15 PM ^
Given Dombrowski's track record, I'll trust him on this one.
December 3rd, 2013 at 6:58 PM ^
DD has made bad trades before.
December 3rd, 2013 at 7:51 PM ^
December 3rd, 2013 at 2:55 PM ^
They could have dumped Fisters admittedly small salary in a better deal and still did the Nathan deal.
This type of comment drives me insane. Do you think Dombrowski had a better deal and said "No, I'll go with the worse offer."
It takes two to tango. The market for a Fister trade that returned a player with little/no salary (needed to sign Nathan and theoretically more) is not a huge market. Known commodities cost money. Big prospects aren't going to be parted with. If Dombrowski could have gotten more, he would have.
December 3rd, 2013 at 3:05 PM ^
A better deal in my mind, not in Dombrowskis. Im sure he thought this was the best deal he could get. I disagree because I think he values Robbie Ray more highly than most scouts do.
I said that if they didnt have a deal better than this, they should have just kept Fister... but Dombrowski went into the offseason with the plan of trading a starter and didnt deviate from it. The return was obvioulsy good enough for him... but most out there are calling it a bad return.
Dombrowski has a great trading history, but just saying that we should trust him no matter what he does is an appeal to authority and leaves no room for reasonable criticism.
December 3rd, 2013 at 7:01 PM ^
"If Dombrowski could have gotten more, he would have."
False.
DD could have gotten more, that is a simple fact.
From a Keith Law article...
"I've spoken to numerous team executives who were shocked at the return for Fister and wish they had been given the opportunity to offer more or to try to assemble a multi-team deal that would give the Tigers the specific pieces they wanted. One contending team's GM, known to be looking for another starter, told me he hadn't talked to the Tigers about Fister in weeks. Another exec with a contender indicated something similar. "
So let's get the notion that maybe that's all the value that Fister could have gotten back in a trade out of here now, but it's simply not true. He had far more value than a loogy (who has little to no value), a crappy utility player (who literally has no value) and a decent prospect, who is outside of every publications top 100. It's evident that DD values Ray far more than everyone else, and that's where the disconnect lies.
December 3rd, 2013 at 3:27 PM ^
Look at it this way...we traded Darrin Downs, Ramon Santiago, and Doug Fister for the three guys and Joe Nathan.
Do you get it now?
December 3rd, 2013 at 12:21 PM ^
December 3rd, 2013 at 12:21 PM ^
This is cool but hard to get that excited about....considering Valverde was also going to be a solution to the closer situation.
December 3rd, 2013 at 12:22 PM ^
December 3rd, 2013 at 12:35 PM ^
Valverde was great for one year, and then fell apart at the end of the next one. This past season fans had to hold their breath every 9th inning it seemed. We needed a reliable closer and, provided this guy doesn't somehow fall apart suddently, we have one.
December 3rd, 2013 at 12:38 PM ^
He's 39, so, not falling apart is no guarantee. We needed a closer and we got one - that's fine. My point with Valverde is exactly that - he looked great and then imploded, so acting like Nathan buys us two years of nothing but guaranteed 9th innings is foolhardy. I'll withhold ecstasy re: closer signings til he saves the fourth win of the Series.
December 3rd, 2013 at 12:43 PM ^
I would have much rather taken a risk on Wilson's arm (he looked great for LA when he came back this year) than pay a guy that old, but Wilson may have turned us down
December 3rd, 2013 at 2:20 PM ^
I'd be hard pressed to choose anyone available over Nathan. I think the Tigers got the guy who's best suited for the job -- to win now.
Wilson was attractive because he won't command that type of money. But, to win now, I'd take Nathan in a heartbeat.
The fact that it's only a two year deal is reflective of his age.
December 3rd, 2013 at 12:55 PM ^
Nothing is guaranteed, not even Prince Fielder...
December 3rd, 2013 at 1:39 PM ^
Should we withhold ecstasy re: any player until they do something in the fourth win of a world series?
Miggy? Hasn't done anything yet... Verlander?... nope
Nathan has a long long track record of being a lights out closer including last year. No reason to not be excited about this one. More excited during the Tigers 4th WS win? sure.
December 3rd, 2013 at 4:45 PM ^
December 3rd, 2013 at 12:22 PM ^
December 3rd, 2013 at 12:24 PM ^
December 3rd, 2013 at 12:47 PM ^
December 3rd, 2013 at 12:41 PM ^
December 3rd, 2013 at 12:48 PM ^
was the best closer available. He's better than Wilson. Yeah, he's 39, so what? Rivera was even older. He has to pitch 1 inning a game. Unless his velocity suddenly leaves him, he'll be fine.
He should be fine for a 2-year deal. I wouldn't have wanted to sign him past that. This guy is one of the best closers of all time and was lights out last year. I doubt he just suddenly loses it because he is now 39 instead of 38.
December 3rd, 2013 at 12:53 PM ^
December 3rd, 2013 at 12:57 PM ^
Yeah, his age doesn't really bother me either. The Tigers know they have only a short window anyway to win the World Series. This coming season may be their best and last for a while. I'd bet their gearing for this year and not worried about his age either.
December 4th, 2013 at 3:12 PM ^
December 3rd, 2013 at 12:56 PM ^
December 3rd, 2013 at 1:41 PM ^
...he won't be shutting US down in the ninth any more, at least. (source: the last decade)
December 3rd, 2013 at 2:06 PM ^
December 3rd, 2013 at 3:27 PM ^
December 3rd, 2013 at 2:57 PM ^
Nathan has had two GREAT (all caps necessary) seasons since his surgery. I likey.
December 3rd, 2013 at 3:58 PM ^
December 3rd, 2013 at 4:30 PM ^
Bullpen was big issue for Tigers. Helped solidify the bullpen with this signing. I like it.
December 3rd, 2013 at 7:07 PM ^
Improved it from where it was earlier today? Yeah.
Is it improved from the same bullpen that imploded during the postseason?
No.
Smyly&Benoit>>>>>Krol&Nathan.
The issue was not closing, Benoit was terrific last year, and it is highly unlikely Nathan will outperform what Benoit provided.
We need more depth, so it is still necessary to add another arm or two to help solidify the middle relief.
December 3rd, 2013 at 6:46 PM ^
December 3rd, 2013 at 7:09 PM ^
We're about 6 or 7 wins worse than were last year, need to add a good hitting 3B/LF at the least.