Continued confusion over Tigers' side of Fister trade

Immediately after the Doug Fister trade was completed last winter, there were many people who doubted the return that Detroit got from the Nationals for a guy viewed by many as one of the more underrated right-handers in baseball. But Tigers general manager Dave Dombrowski steadfastly said that he liked the three players that his side got in the trade - infielder Steve Lombardozzi, left-handed reliever Ian Krol and left-handed pitching prospect Robbie Ray - and that he viewed these players as a solid return for Fister. Well, if you weren't previously confused by the Tigers trading a playoff-tested, groundball-inducing starter with a 3.30 ERA and 124 ERA-plus from 2011-13 in exchange for a reserve infielder, an unproven lefty reliever and a prospect who projected as a back-of-the-rotation starter, my guess is you are now. The Tigers were part of a three-team deal completed yesterday, a trade that sent shortstop Didi Gregorius from the Diamondbacks to the Yankees, right-hander Shane Greene from the Yankees to the Tigers, and Ray to the Diamondbacks along with another prospect. Ray leaves the Tigers organization after just one year, in which he went 1-4 with an 8.16 ERA in nine games (six starts) at the major league level, and 7-6 with a 4.22 ERA in 20 games (19 starts) at Triple-A. Lombardozzi wasn't with the Tigers for long after the Fister trade, as he was traded to the Orioles in late March in exchange for Alex Gonzalez, who then was released less than a month later. Krol is now the only one of the three pieces that Detroit got in return for Fister who is still in the Tigers organization. Krol split last year between the Tigers and Triple-A Toledo, posting a 4.96 ERA in 45 games in the majors and a 3.86 ERA in eight games for the Mud Hens. This isn't meant to disparage Lombardozzi, Krol or Ray, who could end up helping their various teams a good bit down the road. And it could be that Greene hits it big in Detroit, and becomes a significant contributor to the Tigers rotation, potentially being an upgrade for Detroit over Ray. But Dombrowski said a year ago that he really liked the three pieces that he got from the Nationals in return for Fister. One is now in the Orioles' minor league system. One is now in Arizona, where he'll compete for a rotation spot. And the third is still in the Tigers' organization, but struggled in the majors last season and isn't a lock for Detroit's opening day bullpen. Interesting. Meanwhile, the Diamondbacks announced yesterday that they have hired Deric Ladnier, formerly a special assistant to Nats GM Mike Rizzo, as their scouting director. Ladnier had been with the Nationals the last six seasons, and was one of the top scouts in the organization. He previously served as the scouting director of the Royals, so he has experience in the role he'll serve in Arizona. Ladnier is the second front office member to jump from the Nats to the Diamondbacks this offseason; former Nats assistant general manager Bryan Minniti left D.C. to take the same role with the D-backs back in October. The Nats hired Mike Cubbage and Terry Wetzel as special assistants to the GM earlier this offseason, so it's unclear if they'll need to replace Ladnier's role within the organization.