Detroit Tigers Rumors: Trade or no trade, David Price gone in 2016

Detroit Tigers rumors have been swirling a lot lately, especially today on what might be the final home start for David Price in the Olde English D.

The Tigers will head out on a lengthy road trip after this afternoon’s game with the Seattle Mariners and will not return to Comerica Park until after the MLB trading deadline has passed, but whether or not Price is with the team when they come home again will remain to be seen.

Price has been linked with practically everyone, but specifically with the Chicago Cubs to be reunited with his former Tampa Bay Rays’ manager Joe Maddon, and the Los Angeles Dodgers who have reportedly placed Price at the top of their wish list approaching the deadline and feature Tampa Bay’s former GM Andrew Friedman as the team’s president.

There is still no concrete answer on if the Tigers will be buyer or sellers in the coming days. A report came out yesterday saying the team would wait until the end of their series in Boston on Sunday before deciding on a course of action.

According to Ken Rosenthal, it does not matter if the Tigers trade Price or not, it does not appear that the marriage between team and player will last beyond 2015.

The contract that Price will command is beyond the Tigers’ comfort level, and the two sides have not engaged in serious talks, major-league sources say.The Tigers evidently fear that they will fare no better with Price than they did with right-hander Max Scherzer, who rejected the team’s $144 million offer in the spring of 2014, then signed a seven-year, $210 million free-agent contract with the Nationals.Price, who turns 30 on Aug. 26, has little incentive to sign an extension when he is just over three months away from free agency. He struggled with being traded from the Rays to the Tigers last July, but is now comfortable with the team and city and open to a longer relationship, sources say. His initial difficulties stemmed more from the shock of getting traded than any uneasiness with his destination.

I think fans have pretty much thought that Price was never fully comfortable in Detroit and would be seeking the highest bidder while not giving the Tigers a “hometown discount.” And why would he? He has not even been here a full year yet. Max Scherzer was not interested in giving the team he spent five seasons with, went to the World Series with and won a Cy Young Award with a discount, so why would Price?

Because of this, and the Tigers seemingly being too inconsistent to mount a legitimate playoff run, it would seem the best course of action would be to trade Price. This would allow the Tigers to get as much as they can for him instead of settling for the compensatory draft pick that they would receive by offering the lefty a qualifying offer. That is the compensation they received this year for the loss of Scherzer.

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It is worth noting, according to Bob Nightengale, the Cubs want to add pitching at the deadline but are a bit leery about adding an expiring contract. With the Maddon-factor, however, it would seem Chicago would be a leading candidate to sign Price in the off-season, so it might be a calculated risk for the Cubbies.

One more note, while David Price has said he would “listen” to any offer the Tigers would present to him before free agency, he has never given the team a ringing endorsement. Consider Yoenis Cespedes who reportedly wants to return to the Tigers next season even if the pending free agent is traded before the trading deadline.

That is a ringing endorsement that Price does not want to provide.

Time to cut bait.

Next: Top landing spots for Yoenis Cespedes