Detroit Tigers, David Price agree to record arbitration number
By Tyler Birss
The Detroit Tigers and David Price have agreed to a one-year, $19.75 million figure for 2015 in order to avoid arbitration. An MLB.com report and various additional outlets have confirmed the details.
$19.75 million is a record-setting number for a player in his arbitration year. Price’s market value is likely closer to $25 million annually, but landing near-market value in an arbitration period is quite rare. Price received well above his projected salary of $18.9 million from MLB Trade Rumors’ Matt Swartz.
The bigger question for the Tigers is long-term. My thoughts on whether or not Detroit should sign Price to a massive extension have already been documented. In this case, Detroit simply wanted to handle the Price matter prior to entering the unknowns that come with arbitration.
Price went 15-12 with a 3.26 ERA in a 2014 campaign that he split between the Tampa Bay Rays and the Tigers. He didn’t necessarily disappoint as his Detroit run featured 82 strikeouts in 77 2/3 innings pitched, but his Detroit-stint ERA crept to 3.59, a number that was 3.11 in Tampa Bay, and he failed to provide the edge Detroit hoped.
Price has had an unexpectedly tumultuous two years since winning the AL Cy Young Award in 2012. The season after the honor, he struggled mightily to begin the year and then went on the DL with a triceps strain before dominating from July to the end of the year. Then in 2014, he rolled to finish his Rays tenure after another rough start, yet his time in Detroit was not quite as impressive.
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For the Tigers, it seems likely for the team to land either Max Scherzer or Price long-term. Affording both could cost upwards of $350 million, that is, if the Scherzer $200 million figure is for real, and if Price’s market value can be fairly deemed around $150 million. There is a decent chance it could cost even more than that. Let’s discount signing both considering the financial recklessness that would entail.
Which one is the better fit? That, rather than considering signing both, is a more reasonable question for Detroit’s management to ponder. Price is probably cheaper plus he’s left-handed and durable. Scherzer’s worked less innings, meaning that he has less mileage on his arm, and he could provide better value in the late-stages of a long-term deal.
Consider today’s news a temporary resolution to a fascinating future problem. Other Detroit Tigers players eligible for arbitration are J.D. Martinez, Alfredo Simon and Al Alburquerque.