Doug Fister has a good chance to revive his career with the Astros

(AP) Doug Fister, the ex-Washington Nationals and Detroit Tigers starter, came into the offseason with his stock at an all-time low. At one point, before a rough 2015 season, Fister figured to make big bucks in free agency. But on Thursday he signed a one-year deal with the Houston Astros that, according to SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo, is worth $7 million with incentives that could make it as much as $12 million.

You know what they say, there’s no such thing as a bad one-year deal and, while risky, this could certainly be a win-win for the both sides.

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Fister, 31, had a career-worst 4.19 ERA last season in D.C. He made 15 starts and came out of the bullpen 10 times in an injury-shortened season that ended with a 5-7 record. His walks and homers allowed were both way up and his strikeouts per nine innings have been decreasing the past few years. After being traded from the Tigers to the Nats before the 2014 season, Fister was great if you look at standard metrics. He was 16-6 with a 2.41 ERA. But his FIP (fielding independent pitching) was much higher, 3.93, meaning that stellar ERA might be deceiving.

But the Astros aren’t depending on Fister for much. They’re not planning on getting a pitcher with a sub-3.00 ERA. But they’ll take the one-year risk that Fister still has some of that mojo in him.

Confirmed: new #Astros RHP @dougfister58 will wear number 58 with Houston. pic.twitter.com/09Xyxvg9WQ

— Houston Astros (@astros) January 28, 2016

Given Houston’s current roster, Fister is either rotation depth or a back-end starter. Dallas Keuchel, the AL Cy Young winner leads the staff, which also includes the underrated Collin McHugh, youngster Lance McCullers, veteran Scott Feldman and Mike Fiers, who has been picked as a breakout candidate the past couple seasons. Last year’s Astros team had the second-best ERA in the American League, so pitching wasn’t a weakness.

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And this isn’t a long-term marriage. Neither side needs that. The Astros need reinforcements as they try to make a deeper playoff run in 2017. One year is just fine. Fister needs a place to pitch where he can rebuild his value, hoping to show that 2015 was an injury-riddled fluke. If he landed somewhere where he was needed to be a No. 2 or No. 3 starter, that could be far more daunting.

But with the Astros, Fister is free to go into the season without huge expectations. If he’s serviceable and Houston needs another arm, then they got their money’s worth. If he can return to form, then great, they got a steal. And Fister will hit free agency next again eyeing that big payday, for real this time.

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