Is the Price right for the Detroit Tigers to be sellers?
After 96 games, the Detroit Tigers currently sit with 47 wins, 10.5 games behind the Kansas City Royals and five games out of a Wild Card. Despite strong performances from Yoenis Cespedes and David Price — two of the most feared men within the 25-man roster of the club– struggles are evident.
Tiger fans are probably asking, “What is General Manager Dave Dombrowski thinking possibly trading away two huge superstars?” Twitter blew up with quotes from Dombrowski suggesting that two of their biggest acquisitions in recent memory could be had via a trade before the July 31 deadline this year.
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The Tigers have injuries to overcome this year. One of the biggest came at the expense of losing Miguel Cabrera. Cespedes has compensated some for the statistics lost with Cabrera. Pitcher Justin Verlander had some injury woes this year and has been inept since his return. Price has proven to be an ace pitcher who has stepped into the role occupied by Verlander.
Last year’s trade deadline saw David Price being traded by the Tampa Bay Rays in a three team deal. Within the trade Drew Smyly, Nick Franklin and Willy Adames were dealt to the Rays, Austin Jackson to the Seattle Mariners and Price went from Tampa to Detroit.
Also during the trade deadline last year, Cespedes was traded to the Boston Red Sox from the Oakland Athletics for pitcher Jon Lester and utility man Jonny Gomes. This blockbuster trade took the baseball world by storm, but in the end neither player helped fuel a meaningful postseason for their new clubs.
On December 11, 2014, the Red Sox traded Cespedes along with Alex Wilson and Gabe Speier for pitcher Rick Porcello. Cespedes has a.288-14-54 line right now with Detroit and Porcello (5-10, 5.79) is struggling mightily right now in Beantown. Cespedes was seen as a bit of a ‘problem child’ during his tenure in Oakland, but in Detroit, he appears to fit right in.
The fact of the matter is there is still a lot of baseball to be played. While the Tigers are 10 games behind the Royals, they are viable option for winning a Wild Card right now. A lot can happen.
However, the Detroit Tigers do not have a lot of depth within their farm team. Price and Cespedes are both free agents this winter and Dombrowski is in the final year of his contract with the Tigers. By dealing both Price and Cespedes, they could get anumber of highly touted prospects. Perhaps Dombrowski’s hands are tied and forced into this proposal of dealing Price and Cespedes in his final contract year. We don’t know if the Tigers ownership, the Illitch family, has plans on offering Dombrowski a contract extension.
If you are a Tigers fan, you’re probably experiencing mixed reactions and a certain amount of anxiety regarding the direction of this organization. The team has had success with Dombrowski in his post over the past 14 seasons. Under his watch, the Tigers made the playoffs five times, winning tow AL pennants.
In all probability both Cespedes and Price will earn big bucks elsewhere this winter and dealing the duo might not necessarily be a bad thing. By dealing the duo it strips the Tigers of any fear of having them walk away and not recouping their losses by acquiring young, prospective assets. It might be a head scratcher move to assess what the Detroit Tigers management are thinking, but in the long term and if you take emotion out of it — it is not a bad move at all.
A haul like the Athletics gave up last season for a rental on Jeff Samardzija would more than make the price right to deal either superstar.