David Price Trade Tracking Thread

[Guest]

It's been known for some time that the Rays are going to gauge the trade market for lefty ace David Price this offseason, and now, reports Yahoo!'s Jeff Passan, things are developing on that front.

Passan writes that the Mariners, Dodgers, Angels, Pirates, Rangers, Diamondbacks and Blue Jays are among the teams with serious interest in dealing for Price. While it's too early to start declaring front-runners, sources tell Passan that the Mariners are in a strong position to acquire Price, what with their impressive core of young and presumably tradable talent.

It's easy to understand why there's a healthy market for Price. The former AL Cy Young winner and three-time All-Star is still just 28 years of age, and he's not eligible for free agency until after the 2015 season.

Price is coming off a 2013 season in which he pitched to a 3.33 ERA (114 ERA+) and a 1.10 WHIP in 186 2/3 innings. While the ERA was higher than his career norms (lifetime mark of 3.19, 122 ERA+), Price was outstanding after he fully recovered from the triceps injury that delayed the start of his season. As well, Price posted the best control numbers of his career, and he led the AL with a K/BB ratio of 5.59. In July, for instance, Price struck out 35 while walking only one. The strong peripherals suggest that he's going to resume pitching like a frontline Cy Young contender, provided he has a bit better luck in 2014.

The track record, the relative youth and the underlying strength of his 2013 numbers -- that's why Price, if indeed he is traded, will net the Rays the sheik's ransom in return.

http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/eye-on-...ng-david-price

If they are looking to maximize the return on Price, this off-season is the time. It's possible that they could get a good deal at the deadline but the sure chance is to do it over the next couple months.

[RyanLeaf16]

The Rays have always said that their trade deadline is March 31st for any player. That's how they operate. However, Friedman is a hard-liner in negotiations. He will get what he wants or he won't make a trade. I agree the time is now to move Price, but I won't be shocked if he is not traded either. Being a Rays fan I have become accustomed to these moves. I never get attached to any players anymore. Other than Longoria.

[Villain]

A little early to tell, as the teams that come up short in the playoffs this year could give the right package for Price, we just don't know who they are yet.

I actually think the trade won't happen this off-season, but that he will go mid-season in a deadline deal. He'll be 29 next off-season, is left-handed and the caliber of pitcher that we have not seen on the FA market since Cliff Lee. If Greinke can get a deal like he did last off-season, I am sure that Price can get the same, if not more, in an off-season bidding war. Many teams won't mortgage the prospects necessary for a one-year rental who they don't view as a safe bet to re-sign.

[MVPete]

From Jonah Keri's article:

It's possible. While we've heard the Diamondbacks, Dodgers, Jays, Mariners, Pirates, Rangers, and other clubs come up in rumors, Tampa Bay's asking price for its star lefty will surely be sky-high. He's the best pitcher available this winter, and the best by far if Masahiro Tanaka doesn't post. One could argue that the Rays should get more for Price than they got for James Shields last winter, because Price has a better track record than Shields did. But this assumes that there's a team out there as motivated to strip the farm system to land an established starter as the Royals were last year when they dealt Wil Myers. The Royals had a general manager on the hot seat, zero winning seasons in a decade, and zero playoff berths in nearly three decades.
The Rays might be able to pull that off again. Arizona's Kevin Towers is a gunslinger of a general manager who wants a no. 1 starter and has enough young talent on hand to put together a strong offer. The Mariners have already pushed many of their chips into the center of the table to sign Robinson Cano; given this weekend's revelations about the team's dysfunctional brass, a Price trade would spark a well-timed narrative shift and provide a big addition to the pitching staff. Mariners pitching prospect Taijuan Walker has popped up in most rumors, and Peter Gammons has reported that the Rays would want Seattle shortstop Brad Miller, not rumored trade chip Nick Franklin.
Still, Tampa Bay is one power bat (Corey Hart?) away from emerging as a strong contender for 2014. If the Rays are going to trade Price, they're going to want a huge return. If no team is willing to meet that standard, there are worse fates than going into next season with a former Cy Young winner heading the rotation.

http://www.grantland.com/blog/the-tr...atch-this-week

[Villain]

I would hate to see Price on the Dbacks, but I would enjoy watching them punt their farm system.

[Hasselbeck]

For some reason I have a feeling Price is headed to Seattle or nowhere at all in 2014.

[LiquidLarry2GhostWF]

For some reason I have a feeling Price is headed to Seattle or nowhere at all in 2014.

I feel the same, just because Seattle has the only piece that Tampa would take from the teams listed (Walker). Maybe the Pirates, because they have a glut of young talent...just not sure Tampa wants another OF'r.

[RyanLeaf16]

GM AF is going to be as deliberate with this as he was with the Shields deal last year. AF kept balking until Myers was included in a deal. He'll do the same here. MLBN analysts nailed it when he said he'll wait for teams to start missing out on FA SP's and then he'll pounce.

I feel like the Rangers or Mariners are the only real teams that could provide us with a substantial return. However, Jack Z has said that Walker won't be part of a Price deal. So, if Price does go to Seattle, AF will get Walker in return, but, this talk will drag out into later in the off-season when AF breaks Jack Z and takes what he wants.

[Guest]

GM AF is going to be as deliberate with this as he was with the Shields deal last year. AF kept balking until Myers was included in a deal. He'll do the same here. MLBN analysts nailed it when he said he'll wait for teams to start missing out on FA SP's and then he'll pounce.

I feel like the Rangers or Mariners are the only real teams that could provide us with a substantial return. However, Jack Z has said that Walker won't be part of a Price deal. So, if Price does go to Seattle, AF will get Walker in return, but, this talk will drag out into later in the off-season when AF breaks Jack Z and takes what he wants.

That is what makes AF such a great GM. He's very methodical, and doesn't let any other influence pressure him into anything. At least with the Price and Shields situations, he also knows there could be worse things to have happen then to return either of them to his rotation for the next year.

[Guest]

So here's something for the Mariners to consider as they ponder trying to swing a trade for Rays ace David Price: According to Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports.com, Price's agent, Bo McKinnis, says that while his client would be open to signing an extension with some teams, he would not be willing to sign one with the Mariners (relevant tweets: here, here and here.)

So if the Mariners pull the trigger on a Price trade (the rumored asking price is top pitching prospect Taijuan Walker), then they'd do so knowing that they'll get just two seasons out of Price, who's eligible for free agency after the 2015 season.

Now, as Rosenthal notes, that may not be enough to dissuade the Mariners, who have designs on contention in the near-term, especially after the high-dollar acquisition of Robinson Cano, and two years of David Price is two years of David Price. With that said, this revelation has to change the calculus a bit.

As for the merits of Price, age 27, the former Cy Young winner and three-time All-Star last season pitched to a 3.33 ERA (114 ERA+) and an AL-leading 5.56 K/BB ratio. For his career, he owns an ERA+ of 122 across parts of six major-league seasons. In three of the last four seasons, Price has logged at least 208 2/3 innings.

http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/eye-on-...sign-extension