For those Tigers fans expecting David Price to be a cog in the team’s rotation for years to come, I’ve got some bad news. According to a report from Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports, the Tigers haven’t seriously talked with Price about a long-term extension and are prepared to either trade him in the next week or let him walk away as a free agent this winter.
Don’t expect the Tigers to try to sign left-hander David Price long term before deciding whether to trade him — or even after he reaches free agency.
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.
In nearly a full season with the Tigers, Price has been excellent. He’s thrown 209 2/3 innings over 30 starts, pitching to a 2.79 ERA, striking out 209, and walking just 41. But the rest of the team has struggled, and the Tigers are a .500 team this season, three games back of the Twins for the AL’s second Wild Card slot.
It admittedly wouldn’t make much sense for Price to sign an extension with the Tigers before the season ends and he becomes a free agent, but if Detroit really doesn’t feel inclined to sign him…wouldn’t trying to trade him and recoup some of the players they traded a year ago be the logical move, especially considering the team’s current standing in a brutal American League?
