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to start TOR-potential prospects.  taro's just saying that trading Fister to get F-Mart, an OF and a couple pitchers, then moving F-Mart, an OF and a couple of pitchers (say) for Gio is just spining your wheels.
You already HAD the cheap top-15 starting pitcher.  Why jump through hoops to ditch him just to go get another one?  It sort of invalidates whatever reasons you had for trading Fister in the first place.
It's the long way around the block, I agree, but it's the destination that I care about.
Yes, you would trade Taijuan for Gio in order to get immediate production from someone who's already jumped through most of the hoops on the way to being an impact arm.  But Fister had already done that, hence the re-tread that getting Gio feels like.
But this would make the net of the two trades (assuming Fister = Gio):
Plus: 
+ Furbush (ML bullpenner/#5 starter)
+ Ruffin (ML set up man)
+ Wells (ML platoon OF at worst)
+ F-Mart (good minor league hitting prospect in upper minors)
Minus:
- Paxton or Taijuan (minor leaguers still a couple of years away from impact)
- very good minor league bat in upper minors (Franklin, Catricala, F-Mart)
- minor league pen arm (think Pryor)
- misc hitter (Jabari Blash type)
F-Mart doesn't really count if he goes out - he's not a loss since you transfer him from the Tigers to the A's. He doesn't come out of your system.  He's a net zero, and he's still in your system to offset the loss of a Franklin/Catricala type who would go.
But it means you moved minor league talent for major league talent basically across the board.  You're moving up the timeline and paying a premium to compete in 2012 and 2013 instead of 2014 or post-Felix.  Yes, the combination of Fister + (players that would go in Gio trade) might be better than Gio + (players obtained in Fister trade).
But the Fister trade was made to accelerate the process of building a competitive major league club and to fill multiple holes.
Rolling some of that minor league excess that we've obtained in order to get back Gio is still in line with that thinking, because Gio is ready NOW.
How much is it worth to you to sneak in a couple of pennant races in the next 3 years?
~G