Valenti and Foster: Don't Freak Out Over Doug Fister Trade Just Yet...

Tigers' GM Dave Dombrowski did it again. He made a major deal which turned what seemed to be just another normal sports day into a surprising conversation about the direction of the team.

The Tigers dealt starting pitched Doug Fister to the Washington Nationals for utility player Steve Lombardozzi, left-handed relief pitcher Ian Krol, and starting pitching prospect Robbie Ray. That makes it look like Dombrowski might have slipped a bit, but 97.1 The Ticket's Mike Valenti and Terry Foster think that he may not be done dealing.

"My initial reaction was I was completely baffled," Valenti said on his radio program on Tuesday. "You don't know what impact these players will have on a World Series chase. If you're going to judge it on its own without looking at the big picture, I will disagree with you. We have to wait and see at the end of the offseason. This is a sign of the times; everybody's got a budget."

The signing of 38-year-old Joe Nathan as the team's closer seems to be a byproduct of this trade, which sent an arbitration-eligible Doug Fister for three low-wage players.

"It allowed you to upgrade at closer," Foster said on Tuesday. "I heard people trashing this deal and on the surface I understand it. But I'm putting faith in Dave Dombrowski. No, he's got to use a little more fiscal responsibility. There's more deals to be done; I'm not going to judge it yet. I trust Dave D."

The Tigers still have a hole to fill in left field and with names such as Carlos Beltran, Shin-Soo-Choo, Jacoby Ellsbury, and Curtis Granderson in the mix, nothing seems to be out of the realm of possibility for this team going forward.

"This team will make more moves," Valenti said. "Beyond the Nathan deal, there's gotta be more."

Related articles

• Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski Explains Why He Dealt Doug Fister (detroit.cbslocal.com)
• Mike Valenti: The Tigers Need To Forget Choo, Target Beltran and Nathan (detroit.cbslocal.com)