Yesterday it was reported that the Mariners have a real opportunity to acquire David Price. Seattle would prefer to keep Taijuan Walker but could be willing to move Mike Zunino, according to those reports. Here's the latest on Price's trade market…
- The Giants have checked in on Price, according to ESPN's Buster Olney (on Twitter). The two sides have yet to get into any sort of exchange, however.
- The Blue Jays have also asked about Price, tweets Rosenthal, but they're not big on the idea of parting with Aaron Sanchez and Marcus Stroman.
Earlier Updates
- Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports spoke with Price's agent, Bo McKinnis, this morning at the Winter Meetings and was told that Price would not sign a long-term deal if he were traded to the Mariners. McKinnis told Rosenthal that Price would consider signing an extension with other clubs, but wouldn't disclose which clubs in which Price would have interest. Rosenthal stresses that this doesn't preclude the Mariners from acquiring Price anyway (All Twitter links).
I’m seriously gonna need more popcorn.
your telling me lol
One thing that happened this hot stove are stories with less than full credibility. (e.g. Cano and the Mariners’ “explosion.”). Get the popcorn handy, this story could change before the sun goes down.
That’s the reason they’re called rumors. Stuff like that gets reported every off season.
Well, that ends that. Seems a lil short -sighted by Pricebut he earned the right to choose. Moving on
well i mean you to imagine that he wants to be on a team built to win now and for the long haul, the mariners just look, to far away especially if they give up many peices to acquire him.
That’s always the other side of the coin. What you are giving up to get.
Awesome, now hopefully the Mariners will move on from Price
Without someone like him, they pretty much peed into the wind in signing Cano
They don’t need someone like him, they need 1-3 more bats. Felix, Walker, Iwa should be good enough
Lest we forget Paxton.
Don’t forget about Hultzen. He’s coming off an injury, but he’s projected to be a solid middle of the rotation starter. The Mariners are foolish to give away good young players for one year of ANY pitcher.
two years
When I was writing the comment I knew I was forgetting another arm. Thanks.
Plenty of fish in the sea. Price is not the difference between playoff contention this year. M’s could/should sign an option like Colon and throw more money at the OF spots.
David Price knows that the Mariners need much more than Cano to score runs. It’s interesting to see how other teams offers of starters, regardless of availability (Phillies with Hamels, Lee, Indians with Masterson, etc.) might be slowing this down for the Rays. Hard to see them get a Wil Myers type in return.
Good. I didn’t want price in my Mariners blue anyways
Yeah that would be awful wouldn’t it? SMH
For the Price? Yes it would be.
2 Years of rental player for a boatload of prospects is not a great move for the M’s. Price is a good pitcher but there’s other FA options that would cost less money, no prospects and provide a slightly smaller value
Don’t do it, Mariners! He’s being brutally honest about his intentions. If he doesn’t want to be here, find someone who does! *if at all possible.
Got to admire his honesty. IF they do trade for him, the FO knows they only have two years of Price. And lets be honest, those two years aren’t going to be winning years.
We just need to move on from Price. He’s a fantastic pitcher, but we need to address other needs first.
I think Jack Z would get him anyway in hopes that a dominant pitching staff can mask other deficiencies on the team that can’t be acquired or are poorly addressed as he is known to do.
I’ll be honest: if the M’s add Price in exchange for players the team doesn’t need to fill roles this season (ie NOT Walker) then it will be more competitive. If it also adds a good bat then I honestly don’t see why they can’t win. As long as “winning” is defined as something like the Royals season: above .500 and in the pennant race. That would be a big step forward for the club.
The key in acquiring any player via trade if the goal is to “win now” is that you are not subtracting value for the present. The Rays always want MLB-ready prospects which by definition do just that. The M’s could spare Ackley or Franklin plus a reliever and one or more minor leaguers. If the Rays won’t take that deal, then forget them.
yes, thanks for forgetting us. we will pass on your sloppy seconds players that will never amount to anything in the majors.
This is just weird to me. An agents job is to look out for the best interest of his client. By ruling a team out, you lose the ability to gain leverage. I know this is a trade, and he has no say one way or the other, but when it comes to FA time the Mariners won’t even be there to drive up the clients price. I’m okay with this, as i think the M’s would have had to give up too much to get him, but still, odd move by his agent. This is something that they should have kept in private.
Totally agree! Maybe Price should switch to Boras soon! lol
Seattle would have boost up his STATS prior to FA bigtime! That wasn’t a very smart move on their part in my opinion.
Maybe he just doesn’t want to play in Seattle. It’s not like his stats need boosting.
Here is one possibility:
Perhaps David Price really, REALLY doesn’t want to go to Seattle at all. He has no say, at the moment, but it is possible his agent is trying to offer the Mariners strong incentive NOT to give up the type of package the Rays want for him, and thus the Rays either have to trade him where he would like to go, or hang onto him for the time being.
This is possibly all about leverage, right now, and David and his agent trying to create some of their own.
Yeah, that doesn’t help anyone in any way. The only reason he’d say something like that is if Price REALLY did not want to go to Seattle. I would think he’d love pitching in between Felix and Iwakuma, but maybe he just doesn’t want to be the #2 guy? I don’t really know, and not sure we’ll ever know.
With that said, I’m ok with him not going to the M’s. I didn’t want to give up great talent to land him without the assurance he would sign an extension. Now that there’s no chance he signs an extension, I hope there’s no chance the M’s trade for him.
Best interest of his client… but subject to his client’s wishes. But note this: He doesn’t actually have any leverage right now (since Price is under control for 2 more years). This move actually establishes some modest leverage over his situation.
I love the city of Seattle but besides Cano, who would want to sign a long term deal with the Mariners? That franchise has been a mess for a very long time and giving a 10 year contract to a 30 year old second basemen doesn’t seem like the way to turn things around.
Felix!!!!
True, although I was thinking more of free agents. There’s a difference between being able to sign anywhere versus either take the Mariners money or gambling on making it to free agency healthy and performing.
Felix also did. The franchise has been a mess for about 10 years but before that they were great off and on. This would only be a start to turning things around, of course. I don’t think Price is the right step anyway as we’d give up too much for him.
Felix did but it was an extension. He didn’t choose to go to Seattle. The Mariners had some good, fun teams but they’ve made the playoffs 4 times in 36 years.
DIdn’t realize he was forced at gun point to sign the extension instead of waiting till free agency… He chose to sign there when he was an international free agent. He absolutely loves Seattle.
He made a risk/reward decision. His choices were “Take this huge contract in front of you now, or take the chance of injury or regression gambling on a bigger payday in a few years”. It isn’t as if six teams were lined up with $150MM offers in front of him, and he decided which appealed most to him.
Everyone “loves” the city they are playing in…until they are playing somewhere else.
Bottom line is, it is not an ideal parallel to compare someone still under team control who signed a big $$ extension, versus an outright FA choosing Seattle over other potential suitors.
But don’t forget Nick’s point…he did choose Seattle when he was a 16 year old amateur free agent. I bet he had tons of leverage then. LOL.
I don’t want to downplay Felix’s loyalty to Seattle. He made a decision to sign an extension many other players wouldn’t have made. I am sure a certain degree of loyalty to the Mariners was part of his reasoning for taking the deal. I just don’t think there is a good comparison between someone signing an extension, and someone choosing Seattle over other suitors. Plus, he is but one example, and having only one example kind of really underscores the original point, that a lot of guys really don’t want to go there.
I can see how Mariners’ fans, however, would view someone choosing to sign an extension as very similar to a FA on the open market choosing Seattle, since they have had to endure losing so many significant players who wouldn’t take an extension to stay…RJ, Griffey, Arod.
I wasn’t comparing signing an extension versus signing from free agency. The original point was, “who would want to sign a long term deal with the Mariners?” Felix signed a long term deal. If the original point was who would want to sign to the Mariners out of free agency or after being traded then my comment wouldn’t have been the same.
I realize that. I was responding more toward Nick Beahm’s comments.
But like I said, in the eyes of a Mariners fan, who has had to watch Randy Johnson, Ken Griffey, Jr. and Alex Rodriguez all walk out the door rather than sign an extension, is there really a difference anyway? A guy who wants to be there is a guy who wants to be there.
Actually when he was an amateur free agent he had a lot of suitors and the Mariners were not the highest bidders so he did in fact choose Seattle.
If Felix wanted out of here, he could have easily forced his way out via trade. Why is it so hard to accept that a superstar player likes the team he is on and doesn’t want to move? I mean, isn’t that what all fans of smaller market teams want? Like Evan Longoria and the Rays, no one questions his desire to stay there despite the fact they will never be able to pay to keep players. They have done a good job of rotating fresh young talent through the roster, but that is a risky business model that can fail if you miss on players, which is rather easy. No one questions Longoria’s desire to stay, why Felix’s? It’s clear that the city loves him and he loves the city. If you watched his speech, you could tell how sincere he was, when he was in tears, either that or he is a great actor. And if you have seen his Mariner commercials over the years, you would know he is good, but he ain’t that good…
The reason you see Seattle is in on these big names for trades is their high upside talent that they have. And some of it has started to make the big leagues, which people want. While I know they aren’t proven yet, and a couple haven’t lived up to the hype, they still have a great young core. If a few of them can show some production, this could turn into a winner sooner than most people think.
Price just burned the Seattle bridge, IF the rumor is true.
Obviously he doesn’t seem too concerned about that.
Very true. Seattle has always had an easy time acquiring pitching, because Safeco boost pitching stats drastically. This move could have catapulted his value even more in 2 years as a FA. PLUS Safeco Field is designed for LHPs, and LHB’s.
dubious franchise
Aaaand there goes a good chunk of the Rays’ leverage in any negotiations with the Mariners.
Price could just announce today which teams he would consider signing an extension with. Combine that with the teams with the pieces to nab David, and that pretty much limits the Rays’ leverage to maybe a couple of teams.
Bingo! Take the hint Mariners.
lol chill out Price! No way They should sign him after that.
Don’t want him anyway. Go to the Yankees
no beard?
No beard and he’s too young. The Yankees are in the market for 30+ year old MLB players, unfortunately.
I think we should keep him for 1 more year. Looks like no other team is willing to give up the pieces.
Although not particularly please his agent has come out with this stuff right now.
They Rays should keep him, but I see them trading Price before the deadline next season.
Well, you can put this rumor to rest now
#6 Organization
I am not sure how much correlation is there between football and WWE fans and baseball fans but I have gained respect for Seattle fans.
2 years only for Mariners unless they think they can change Price’s mind before he leaves. Looking more and more like Price won’t get traded until the deadline next year when teams get really desperate.
Rays don’t have a trade partner now. Mariners, Rangers, and Diamondbacks look to all be out.,
Gosh, guess the Rays will just have to hang on to the Cy Young winning pitcher. Tough luck for them. I sure wouldn’t want to be in their shoes. I mean, its not like the Rays had a sign out on I-275 in front of the Trop “LH Pitcher for Sale or Trade, Taijuan Walker or Best Offer.” Its just possible that the David Price auction is largely a media event. So get over yourselves Seattle. I doubt the Rays franchise is going to fold up if the Mariners don’t want to trade.
For the team he’s traded to, that 72 hour negotiating window and Price extension must be part of any deal. It would be stupid to trade for him and he doesn’t re-sign.
We’re talking $20MM a year for at least 6 years, based on the new Ricky Nolasco “gold standard”. I don’t know that Price won’t have more value to someone, and be gotten cheaper at the trade deadline.
And there goes all the Rays’ hopes at acquiring Taijuan Walker.
Price did Seattle a solid here. Let them know “yeah, I’m not staying” before they unload their farm systen to get him
You would think he’d be more concerned about doing the Rays a solid, considering he plays for them currently. My guess is he’d rather stay in Tampa, so by saying he won’t sign with Seattle (the team most regularly rumored to be in on him), he’s essentially “exercising” a no trade clause, without having one…
Tampa is going to drop $20mm+ a year on Price? The writing has always been on the wall with this situation. Tampa knows it and Price knows it.
Not saying they’ll sign him to an extension, but they’ve been in playoff contention every year since he came up, and he’s probably made some good friends on the team. If his agent limits the leverage that Friedman has, then maybe they keep him this year, and Price gets another chance at a ring in a Rays uniform.
What team would you rather be on? Tampa or Seattle?
seattle. they’ll actually pay me.
Homer, you seem remarkably uninformed. You realize that, aside from his agent playing games like this, its really not up to Price where he plays in 2014 and 2015, right? You also don’t seem to really understand how the Rays work or why they’re successful or why they have a much better chance of “winning something” in your lifetime than the Mariners do, right? No, you probably don’t.
no i don’t. you guys are the only ones who know anything about everything. thus you are always right and no one else’s opinion matters. i bet it feels really good to be on such a high soap box. i’m very jealous.
Actually, it does feel pretty good. But don’t be jealous. If you work really hard, someday you might get a clue.
nah, i wouldn’t want to make you feel threatened in anyway almighty one. the thought just makes my knees shake.
In the case of any sports agent…the team that can pay the most. And that, unfortunately, is not Tampa. In terms of contention, I would take Tampa every time for sure.
this. someone who has thought it through.
I was referring to the next two years where he’s under control only as long as the team wants to pay him, but I agree with your point…
Well, that should take Seattle out of the running for Price. A team shouldn’t give up the type/quantity of prospects necessary to get Price if he won’t sing long term with them.
Opens the door to a three team deal.
If Tigers truly feel like Scherzer will not work longterm and Seattle is willing to overpay for an extension…
Tigers get: Price which keeps their window open for 2 years instead of just one (with Scherzer).
Rays get: Top prospects from BOTH Tigers and Mariners.
Mariners get: Scherzer and the right to overpay him to an extension this offseason.
Why not overpay for Scherzer next season and keep the prospects? Assuming of course that Scherzer will be an FA next offseason.
Extension would have to be done now to make this work.
Boras like to maximize contract value… but it would not be bad to get a commission check early and one up his Jay-Z Nemesis with an overpay for Scherzer Seattle contract extension.
Tigers know they do not have to overpay in an open free agent market… but Seattle might think they have to. Getting it done a year early with Scherzer may be worth the prospects… and the value of the prospects they give up would be much less than a straight deal for Price.
Extension would have to be done now to make this work.
Boras like to maximize contract value… but it would not be bad to get a commission check early and one up his Jay-Z Nemesis with an overpay for Scherzer Seattle contract extension.
Tigers know they do not have to overpay in an open free agent market… but Seattle might think they have to. Getting it done a year early with Scherzer may be worth the prospects… and the value of the prospects they give up would be much less than a straight deal for Price.
Matt Adams, Carlos Martinez, Alex Reyes, and Stephen Piscotty.
I’d be surprised. Would have to think that Oscar Taveras or Shelby Miller would have to be involved if not both. I do like Martinez though & perhaps Andrew Friedman et al are similarly high on him. If so, I could see Adams being an acceptable second piece.
The M’s need a #3 starter to go with Felix, Iwakuma, Walker and Paxton. They need bats and bullpen help much more than another high-dollar pitcher. If they’re gonna spend more cash, start by signing Choo.
I feel like the padres should make a play for Price they have enough young pitching depth and fielders to offer and warm weather
What about the chance to win?
I doubt the Pads are going to give up top prospects and shell out $35MM over the next two years for a guy who might make the difference between 78 wins and 82 or 83.
Like other M’s fans, I hope they see this and move on. I personally don’t want to see someone on the field who isn’t committed to being successful. We saw that in Figgins and Milton Bradley. Though, the opposite case could be made that he would pitch his tail off just to put on the show that he needs to get out of here.
Because he knows he’s not the ace of the mariners. Maybe even the 3 there
Yea, I’m sure it has nothing to do with the M’s record the previous few years.
Ha ha – or the fact that it’s more than two hours to any MLB city by charter eitheron top of the woebegone decade or so since the early aughts..
Thank u, Price.
The money required to extend you, Ms can eaisly win the bid for Tanaka.
Walker + Tanaka > Price
All this means is that the mariners are defiantly trading for him.
Defiantly or definitely, i think you may be right. Jack is in a place of IDGAF and will do what he wants without rhyme or reason. Thinking back to the tail end of Bavasi’s reign.
I actually think ‘defiantly’ kind of works.
Over the next two years considering what Tanaka is likely to make? I’ll go with David Price.
Over the next 5 years considering what Price is likely to make? I’ll go with Tanaka + Walker any day of week.
I don’t think the monies are going to be that different if Tanaka goes for more than Yu Darvish did. I’ll take the bird in hand with Price at more than reasonable money for what he is almost sure to provide assuming health. I understand your viewpoint & am a fan of Taijuan Walker as well, but Price is the real thing.
Yeah, well, whatever, let us know how that works for you.
Walker = Promising but unproven. Tanaka = Costs a fortune if you outbid the Yankees and the other 12 teams likely to be interested then has a chance to become Dice K. Both generally and statistically, Japanese pitchers do not fare well in US MLB, particularly as starters. And don’t say “Yu Darvish does OK.” He’s from Japan but not entirely Japanese.
David Price already thinking about the 10-year/$300 Million deal he’ll sign with NY Yankees as soon as he’s granted free agency.
Mariners should back away. Trading Walker away for a one year rental would have long term effects on the Mariners future.
Mariners should go after Cliff Lee. We don’t need a ace like Price to be a 3…. Lee liked Seattle, he asked us for a extension, we said no. Let’s bring him back.
I feel bad for him tho, he took a lower amount of money to play in PHI and now they are talking about trading him.
Lee is almost twice as expensive as Price, 2/62.5 vs. 2/30-35. You could almost have Price and the first two years of Choo for the cost of Lee the next two years.
Price won’t be moved, not even at the trade deadline. Other teams will beware because of this. Rays will likely find themselves in wild-card contention and will need him, rather than dealing him at the deadline.
Move on… we’ve had our fill of players who came over and didn’t commit themselves to play… (*cough* Figgins *cough* Milton Bradley)
The Giants checked in? Ha, who could the Giants possibly trade to acquire Price? I’m not sure all 5 of their top prospects would be enough to get this deal done.
I could see Brandon Belt being very appealing to the Rays.
I assume that at this point, guys like Cain, Bumgarner, Belt, Pence and Posey are untradable.
Belt is definitely tradable. Especially if it meant getting Price (which would be a dumb move on SF’s part).
Not knowing much about Sabean’s long term plan for Posey, I’d think that once Belt is out of the picture, Posey moves over to first and one of our other 15 catchers takes over.
I wouldn’t like that move. Belt’s finally figured it out at the major league level. And we don’t have any offense now, let alone if he’s gone.
Blue Jays… stay away! I know the idea of Price on the team is great but I will be really annoyed if Sanchez & Stroman turn into good pitchers and we have to face them 10 times a year and continue to get mocked my TBR’s effective strategies.
(DISLAIMER: I live in Seattle) M’s can forget about Price if he’s not open to an extension, it’s time to trade Walker and Franklin to LAD for Matt Kemp and put him in LF!! Get them to eat 5mil/yr.
I think these comments are very overblown. If the Mariners bring him in and start winning he may end up loving the team. A lot can change in 2 years. In 2007 the Rays were probably the least likable team for players, by 2009 they started winning and the players loved playing there. This could be Seattle if they play their cards right.
The M’s are making an all in push with the Cano signing. You probably have 2-3 years before he starts declining. You also have 2 years of Iwakuma left and your young core guys like Seager, Ackley, Smoak and Saunders are all 26-27 and entering their prime and arbitration years. It’s a perfect time to build a team around them while they are relatively young. Seattle has already added Cano. If you could add Price and another bat such as Choo, that is 15 wins added to last years team. If you see a little improvement from the young guys you could be looking at a 20 win improvement and 90+ wins. Once you’re in the playoffs, no body is going to want to face a 1-3 of Hernandez, Price and Iwakuma. Once you added Cano, the dynamic changed and I think the M’s should strike while the iron is hot.
I admire Price’s honesty. His agent misplayed this card. Boras would have never let a team know his client’s preference, this hurts Price’s FA market potential in 2 years.
The Blue Jays better not give up Price for Sanchez OR Stroman, let alone both.
Blue Jays! DON’T GO AFTER PRICE! Just don’t! Please!
omg Price, please go to the Giants. Cain, Price, Bumgarner, Hudson & Lincecum. Solid.
This would be HUGE! I’ve always been a huge fan of 6 starters, using one as a long-reliever, especially as insurance for bad early outings.
We’d certainly have to give up Kyle Crick in any deal, unfortunately. I would imagine they’d want someone like Brandon Belt to help them at 1B, as well.
I wouldn’t mind dropping Belt, but if Crick goes so does our farm system hah. I think Giants have already spent a lot of time investing in the future since back in ’05. Just look at all the players we drafted (Cain, Pablo, Lincecum, Bumgarner, Posey). We should be in the “winning now” mode while they are still in their prime. Pick up Price!! Let’s keep this Golden Era running!
I’m hesitant to give up Belt just yet. His bat was HUGE and can be bigger as he develops. As far as Crick goes, it would be extremely tough to see him go, but the return for Price might be worth it in the end.
Giants don’t need Price. What are they thinking?
Oh they certainly could use him.
Cain- RHP
Bumgarner- LHP
Price- LHP
Lincecum- RHP
Hudson- RHP
Vogelsong (RHP) used as a long-reliever/insurance pitcher.
Adding another Left Handed Pitcher to the mix would be critical, seeing as it was Bumgarner and Zito last year, and only Bumgarner did anything useful of the two. Bumgarner/Price could be really stinking good.
But I’m gathering you must be a fan of another NL West team, am I correct?