Fister and Pauley traded to Tigers

July, 30, 2011

7/30/11

7:42

PM ET

By Jim Bowden | ESPN.com

The Philadelphia Phillies and San Francisco Giants rocked the baseball world with blockbuster deals this week for All-Star outfielders Hunter Pence and Carlos Beltran, respectively. Both deals should help those division-leading clubs in the postseason as much as they will in the regular season. In contrast, the Detroit Tigers’ six-player deal today with the Seattle Mariners was designed more for the 162-game regular-season pennant race than it was for a potential AL postseason matchup.

The Tigers did that in acquiring starting pitcher Doug Fister and reliever David Pauley from the Mariners in exchange for left-handed pitcher Charlie Furbush, minor league third baseman Francisco Martinez, minor league outfielder Casper Wells and another prospect to be named. The announcements were made by Tigers president and GM Dave Dombrowski and Mariners VP and GM Jack Zduriencik.

The Tigers needed to do something to bolster the pitching staff to give them their best chance of winning the division, and this move improves both the rotation and the bullpen. The Tigers’ fifth starters this year had a combined record of 4-16 and the acquisition of Fister should at least help them get closer to a .500 team at that spot in the rotation. The Tigers also called up top prospect Jacob Turner to make one start on Saturday with the intent of optioning him right back to Triple-A afterward. However, don’t be misled, it’s also an important audition for the Tigers’ best pitching prospect.

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ABOUT THIS BLOG

Jim Bowden

Bowden, who served as the senior vice president and GM for the Cincinnati Reds and the Washington Nationals, is an analyst for ESPN.com. In 1992, Bowden became the youngest GM in MLB history when the Reds hired him at age 31. The Reds finished in first place twice during his 10 years as GM, and he was named MLB Executive of the Year by Baseball America in 1999. After working for ESPN in 2004, Bowden became the first GM of the Washington Nationals when the franchise relocated from Montreal to Washington, D.C., in 2005, working in that role until the 2009 season. Bowden co-hosts the "Inside Pitch" radio show on Sirius XM satellite radio. Follow on Twitter: @JimBowdenESPNxm.