The Oakland A's agreed to terms with right-handed pitcher Mike Fiers on a two-year contract, the club announced today.
Fiers began the 2018 season with Detroit and was 7-6 with a 3.48 ERA in 21 starts when he was traded to Oakland on Aug. 6. He went 5-2 with a 3.74 ERA in 10 games, including nine starts, with the A's and combined for a 12-8 record and a 3.56 ERA in 31 games overall. The 33-year-old right-hander had career highs in wins and winning percentage (.600) and matched his highs in games and games started. Fiers ranked fifth in the American League in fewest walks per nine innings (1.94), eighth in opponents' batting average with runners in scoring position (.172) and 10th in ERA. He was non-tendered by the A's on Nov. 30.
Terms were not disclosed, but the Associated Press reported Fiers will earn $6 million in 2019 and $8.1 million in 2020.
With an expected arbitration number of around $10 million, the A's had initially not tendered Fiers a contract, making him a free agent.
Fiers bounced around from Milwaukee to Houston and then Detroit before landing in Oakland.
Morosi recently reported Fiers was being courted by the Reds, Nationals, Rangers and Giants, all of whom would have been a poorer fit for Fiers, save perhaps the Giants, given his past home run issues. The Oakland Coliseum seems a good fit for the 33-year-old, who is at his best when keeping the ball in the air, but at his worst when unable to keep the ball in the yard.
Fiers ill join an unstable cadre of rotation arms in Oakland, with Daniel Mengden, Frankie Montas, Aaron Brooks, Paul Blackburn and Chris Bassitt being the in-house options for what’s sure to be another ragtag crew.
