D-Backs Unlikely To Sign Doug Fister

The Diamondbacks are probably out of the mix for free-agent righty Doug Fister, GM Mike Hazen tells FanRag’s Jack Magruder (Twitter link). Last week, reports had indicated that Fister was likely to sign in the near future, with Arizona being mentioned as one prominent possibility.

Fister made sense as a depth option for the Snakes following the season-ending injury to Shelby Miller, but it seems as though they’ll stick with internal options. Zack Greinke has reestablished himself as an ace atop the rotation in his second season with Arizona, with Patrick Corbin, Taijuan Walker and Robbie Ray occupying the next three spots in the starting five. Right-hander Zack Godley has been outstanding in two starts as well, and the D-backs also have right-hander Braden Shipley and left-hander Anthony Banda on the 40-man roster and in the Triple-A rotation.

[Related: Arizona Diamondbacks depth chart]

SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo mentioned the D-backs, Mets, Giants, Angels and Blue Jays as possible landing spots for Fister, though Joel Sherman of the New York Post has since suggested that Fister won’t land with the Mets or Jays (or the Marlins, for that matter). That leaves the Giants and Angels as possibilities from that initial list, and Sherman did note that the Halos were believed to be one serious consideration. FanRag’s Jon Heyman, though, suggested that an NL team was likelier to sign Fister when first reporting that a deal was close.

It’s been mostly quiet on Fister since the initial reports of his market heating up, and it remains unclear if that market has changed for some reason or if perhaps his proximity to an agreement was overstated. Fister remains arguably the top unsigned player on the market, though it’s also been awhile since he’s been an above-average contributor in the Majors. The right-hander’s velocity has plummeted in recent seasons, and though he proved himself a durable rotation piece last year (32 starts, 180 1/3 innings for Houston), interest in him has seemingly been tepid.

Perhaps Fister’s camp is waiting to see if an injury with another club creates an opportunity that does not presently exist, but he’ll presumably need quite a bit of time to ramp up to the point where he’s ready to join a rotation after sitting out Spring Training and the season’s fist six weeks.