The Tampa Bay Rays are terrible this season and now the David Price trade rumors have started up ahead of the trading deadline and teams like the NY Yankees, Toronto Blue Jays, Seattle Mariners, LA Dodgers, Boston Red Sox and Baltimore Orioles could be options for the former Cy Young winner, as he was on the trading block this past offseason and now could be on his way out of town.
The Rays came into the season with high expectations and they have made the playoffs in recent years, but injuries have taken their toll. The team has had massive injuries in the rotation and some players have not been performing up to their usual standards and that is why the team is a mess right now and is in last place in the league. David Schoenfield at ESPN.com and the Sweetspot blog writes that it's time for the Rays to trade Price, which he thinks was already a foregone conclusion coming into the season.
Schoenfield put together some numbers about where the Rays are at record wise and how the standings are shaping up and he writes that the team basically has no chance to make the playoffs, even with the second wild card. The team would have to go on a historic run just to get even with other teams and even that may not be enough to get back into the wild card standings. The team has been outscored by over 40 runs and that is one of the worst differentials in the league and after being one of the darling teams in baseball over the past few years, the Rays are looking more like the Devil Rays of old.
Price is one of the best pitchers in baseball and he came into the 2013 season with a 61-31 record and a 3.16 ERA over his career and heading into last season he made three All-Star teams and was coming off of his Cy Young season,. Price established himself as a consistent and quality starter in the league and he beat out Justin Verlander for the Cy Young by going 20-5 with a 2.56 ERA to lead the majors and he was tied that season for the league lead in wins and winning percentage and he had 205 strikeouts in over 200 innings of work. Price previously was the top pick in 2007 out of Vanderbilt and helped Tampa get to the World Series as a reliever and then ended up as the youngest pitcher in years to start the All-Star game and he also finished second in Cy Young voting in 2010 to Felix Hernandez.
The Rays don't want to trade Price, but they may have to and that fits into what has happened with the team in past years, as players like Matt Garza and James Shields were shipped out ahead of big contracts. The Rays can't spend like other teams and that is why they made hose deals and that is one reason why Shields was traded and Price likely will not be re-signed when his deal is up. The Rays have flipped their pitchers for great prospects, including Shields when they got Wil Myers and Jake Odorizzi in return and they could net a similar package for Price.