The MLB offseason is moving into 2015 and pitchers David Price and Cole Hamels have come up as trade targets for teams, as the St. Louis Cardinals have emerged along with the Oakland Athletics, Los Angeles Dodgers, LA Angels and Toronto Blue Jays and this comes as James Shields is available in free agency with just a couple months to go before pitchers and catchers report for spring training.
According to Fox Sports, Ken Rosenthal reports that the St. Louis Cardinals are a team to watch, as they are "exploring" trades for David Price and Cole Hamels and also could be in the mix for Max Scherzer. Rosenthal writes that the Cardinals would likely only go for one of those names, but that it's up in the air whether it's Scherzer, Price or Hamels that they will target.
Price comes in after getting traded to the Tigers and Detroit may look at keeping him over signing back Max Scherzer. Price went 4-4 with the Tigers and put up a 3.59 ERA and if they trade him, the team could look at signing back Scherzer. According to MLB.com, Price filed for arbitration and he previously did that with the Rays and now the teams have until Friday to submit their requests and that could lead to a showdown for Price. The two sides likely will come to an agreement and there is chance that after that he could be traded.
The Cardinals already have a strong rotation with Adam Wainwright, Carlos Martinez, Michael Wacha, Lance Lynn and John Lackey, but to get Price they likely will have to give up Lynn or Wacha. Wacha had some injury issues this past season, but he has plenty of potential, while Lynn also could be an attractive piece. The Cardinals are looking at these trades because they know that Wainwright had some elbow issues and his future could be up in the air.
Hamels is another interesting option, as he is coming off of one of his best seasons and while he is due $94 million through the next four years, he will be cheaper than Scherzer for teams. Around the league the Oakland Athletics look to be making moves and no one should rule them out of the Price race, as they just acquired Ben Zobrist after making a number of trades this offseason. Zobrist is as versatile as anyone in the league and can play multiple positions, including in the outfield and the infield.
Many thought the Rays were going to trade Zobrist after they signed Asdrubal Cabrera, as they also have Nick Franklin in the infield after the trade with the Mariners last season. Zobrist has an expiring contract at $7.5 million and he will be a major free agent target come next year once he finishes up with the Athletics. The Dodgers were another team that was active in trades and after moving Matt Kemp, the team still could be interested in trading Andre Ethier. The Mariners have been considered an option this offseason, but after they acquired Seth Smith and Justin Ruggiano, they likely are set in the outfield.
