The MLB Winter Meetings are starting to heat up and after a first day of general managers and team executives starting to work on deals, more news should be coming out and some of the top names being talked about with pitchers include Justin Masterson, David Price, Chris Sale and Homer Bailey.
David Price has long been the top name mentioned at the winter meetings as someone that could get traded and the Texas Rangers, Dodgers and Mariners have all been mentioned as possible destinations. Price still has two more years left on his deal at a reasonable price with arbitration and he won't be a free agent until after those seasons and with the Rays wanting to keep payroll down, they will try and pry a prospect away from a team like they did with the James Shields and Royals trade with Wil Myers, who is looking like a legitimate stud. Chris Sale has been getting plenty of calls from teams to the White Sox, while Justin Masterson on the Indians is also being looked at as an option to get dealt.
The Mariners were being considered a serious team in the Price sweepstakes, but after reports came out that the team would have to injured young stud Taijuan Walker in any deal, they backed off. The Robinson Cano deal means that the Mariners are going to make some more moves, but it appears Price won't be one of them because of the high price tag, as walker is considered one of the best prospects in baseball. Last season he made his debut in the MLB and now the 21-year-old looks like he is ready to join Felix Hernandez and Hisashi Iwakuma in the rotation this season. The team may still deal names like James Paxon as well as Nick Franklin and Dustin Ackley for other players, but that will depend on what the deal looks like. Price could go to the Rangers or the Dodgers depending on who they are willing to deal, according to Hardball Talk.
Sale likely won't get traded since the White Sox love him, but Hardball Talk reported that the team was getting plenty of calls asking the team to "consider a trade". Sale has broken out as one of the top young pitchers in baseball and he is signed through 2019 and is young and he is coming off a season that saw him have a 3.07 ERA with over 200 strikeouts in over 210 innings and that won't be an easy deal to make.
The Indians are a team that could deal as well, as SB Nation and Fox are reporting that the team is getting calls about 28-year-old pitcher Justin Masterson. The Indians want to work out a long term deal for him but they will listen to offers and he is coming off of a 14-10 season with a 3.45 ERA and is a solid pitcher that could be a number two starter for many teams. With the Indians likely to lose out on free agent Ubaldo Jimenez, it might be best to hold on to Masterson.