He took a pass.
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Yes, whether the direction was dictated by Hal Steinbrenner’s desire to lower the payroll or GM Brian Cashman’s firm belief in his top prospects, Yankee brass is taking a huge gamble by turning to its farm system rather than proven All-Stars for help. All others refused to make a deal with the Yankees that didn’t feature one of the team’s top four minor leaguers.
And that is what the chase for Price is really about: Ensuring a playoff opportunity, preferably multiple, by skipping the wild-card game altogether.
The Dodgers, Giants, Blue Jays, Astros and others are interested in Price. But, we’ve been in this game for a little bit now.
Of course, winning championships is what ultimately made them beloved, and that will always be the standard in the Bronx, starting with this year. We’re going to find out soon, because, as of this writing, there are fewer than 32 hours left before the deadline. The Dodgers are reportedly gearing up to go after Price, as the team pulled off a three way trade with the Marlins and Braves. And as Jon Paul Morosi of Fox Sports notes, the Houston Astros are aggressively hunting Price as well. Joe Nathan is out for the season with an elbow injury and the Tigers shipped out Joakim Soria before Thursday’s game. It seems likely that Davis will find a new home by 4 p.m. Friday. Not yet, at least.
Now, however, the Blue Jays appear ripe to make a run. Whisper the name “Julio Urias” into the phone, and Dave Dombrowski would have pedaled a tricycle 2,000 miles to pick him up if the Dodgers demanded it.
Hamels has $82.1 million remaining on his $144 million contract with a vesting option to stick around through 2019.
The Giants are not getting David Price. Mitchell, who has been called up as both a starter and a reliever over the past two years, has the backing of many officials in the organization, as they see him as a future rotation piece.
Price will be a free agent after this season. In other words, they speculated some players from this package would wind up being flipped from Los Angeles to Detroit in a Price deal.
Meanwhile, Carlos Gomez of the Milwaukee Brewers recently came out of a messy deal with the New York Mets, with the latter backing out from the trade even after seemingly reaching an agreement with the former. Triple-A Buffalo: 3-1, 2.77 ERA, 0.974 WHIP, 39 IP, 37 SO, 6 BB. Now neither of us has to wonder about where he’s going or what the Phillies plan is, or argue about what his true value is.
Price, 29, is one of the best pitchers in baseball, with a 2.53 ERA this season in 21 starts. There are still games left to be played.
The Blue Jays, meanwhile, are playing to win this year. He didn’t allow a run in 13 of his last 14 appearances. “It’s tough, but at the same time, it’s business”. “You just do what you’ve got to do”. In his 18 years in the big leagues, he was never part of a team that sold off veteran players at the deadline. So did Jose Reyes, just traded for Tulowitzki, and Price.
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“You have no choice but to deal with it”, Victor Martinez said. “They got significantly better”.
