The Tigers needed a mid- to back-end guy for their rotation last year, one that was financially controllable for years to come.

So they traded veteran Doug Fister to the Washington Nationals to get Robbie Ray in a package of prospects, in what was a heavily-panned offseason deal — only to find out Ray was not quite ready.

So the Tigers tried again apparently.

According to several reports, the Tigers are working on a three-way deal with the New York Yankees and Arizona Diamondbacks that would send Ray to Arizona, and bring back Yankees starter Shane Greene to Detroit. [UPDATE: The Tigers officially announced the trade, and will have a conference call to discuss it mid-afternoon.]

New York will get Diamondbacks shortstop Didi Gregorius to replace the retired Derek Jeter.

Sweeney Murti of WFAN reported the deal first.

There is reportedly another player from the Tigers’ system included in the deal, according to Fox Sports’ Jon Morosi, as well as two relievers coming back to Detroit from Arizona, according to the YES Network’s Jed Weisberger. [UPDATE: Weisberger tweeted that he "may have misfired" on the two relievers.] [UPDATE 2: Morosi confirmed it was minor-league infielder Domingo Leyba going from the Tigers to the Diamondbacks.]

Greene, 26, is not even arbitration eligible until after the 2017 season, and won’t become a free agent until after the 2020 season.

Perfect for a team like the Tigers that has a couple of high-priced front-end starters, and needs to fill behind them.

Greene went 5-4 with a 3.78 ERA in 14 starts for the Yankees last season, with a superb strikeout-per-9 ratio of 9.3. He’s a sinkerballer, like Rick Porcello, so he does give up hits, and had a career minor-league WHIP of 1.478.

The best start of his young career came against the Tigers in August, when he threw eight scoreless innings in a 3-1 win. His very next start, he struck out 10 against Tampa Bay.

The last time, of course, the Tigers engaged in a three-way offseason deal with the Diamondbacks and Yankees, they got Max Scherzer, Austin Jackson, Phil Coke and Daniel Schlereth in exchange for Edwin Jackson and Curtis Granderson.