The top starting pitcher available on the trade market has been dealt from the Detroit Tigers to the Toronto Blue Jays. After making two of their top players in outfielder Yoenis Cespedes and left-handed ace David Price available, it now appears that a deal for a Tigers star is done. David Price will be going from the Motor City to T-Dot in a huge deal for the Blue Jays attempt at a playoff push.
In return top left-handed pitching prospect Daniel Norris will be among the players going to Detroit, should the deal become official.
Following from Jon Heyman of CBS Sports.
david price is going to toronto. norris is going back in deal.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeymanCBS) July 30, 2015
This was the second huge deal for the Blue Jays in the last week after they also acquired slugging shortstop Troy Tulowitzki from the Colorado Rockies.
The 29-year-old Price has a 2.53 ERA with 138 strikeouts and 29 walks in 146 innings this season. This season he’s making $19.75 million, of which approximately $6.6 million remains and the Blue Jays will most likely be responsible for. Price is set to hit free agency following the 2015 season so a deal for him would almost be a rental, although Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos explained that he’d prefer to acquire locked up players, like Tulowitzki who’s signed until 2022, when possible.
“Ideally you don’t shop in the rental market, that doesn’t mean we’ll rule it out, we’re open to it, but our preference is always to have guys under control that can be here for a while,” Anthopoulos said.
The Blue Jays sit two games out of the final Wild Card spot in the American League and seven games out of first place in the American League East. Hopefully for Toronto, Price’s first appearance with the Blue Jays can be as positive as Tulo’s was.
