MLB Roundup 12/23: Mike Fiers signs in Oakland

Mike Fiers signs two-year deal with Oakland

Saturday was a mostly quiet day around the league as teams are presumably (and hopefully, from my perspective) getting ready to take a little time off from wheeling and dealing for the holiday season. That doesn’t mean things were totally quiet, however. The Athletics, a day after pulling off a big trade for Jurickson Profar, made another move to bolster their rotation. They re-signed Mike Fiers to a two-year deal worth around $15 million. The right-handed starting pitcher joined the Athletics in the second half last summer when Oakland traded for him from Detroit in exchange for a pair of minor leaguers, and he was part of a group of shockingly effective starting pitchers that helped lead the A’s to their wildcard bid. Fiers isn’t a great starting pitcher, of course, but he’s been able to serve as something around a league-average pitcher for most of his career. His biggest issue has always been the long ball, and while that didn’t get any better in Oakland last year one would think over a full season in the American League West should help.

Blue Jays and Padres talking Marcus Stroman trade

This one doesn’t seem particularly close to happening, but it’s possible. On Saturday we learned of a possible trade that would send Blue Jays pitcher Marcus Stroman to the Padres in exchange for prospects. Old friend Logan Allen is among the prospects that could move from Toronto to San Diego. From the Red Sox perspective, it would be nice to get Stroman out of the division even if he hasn’t always been as consistent as Toronto has wanted. There’s still plenty of talent in that arm, and the more talent out of the division, the better. Additionally, on a personal level he is one of my favorite guys to watch in the league when he’s on, and obviously it’d be easier to root for someone when they are out of the division. On the other side, the Padres are quickly becoming a very, very interesting team. They are still a few pieces away, but with top prospect Fernando Tatis coming up soon and other top prospect Luis Urias already up, their talent infusion is starting. San Diego has been connected to most big names on the trade market this winter, and could start making some noise as soon as 2019 if things go right.