The 21st century’s 10 most impactful MLB trade deadline deals to date
By Bill Felber
T-9. David Price
Twice in his career Price has been a deadline pickup for a postseason hopeful. On July 31, 2014, the Tigers acquired Price from Tampa Bay as part of a three-team deal.
It was a big trade, but not top 10 material. The Price trade we are interested in was the one authored almost exactly one season later, when the Tigers shipped Price to the Toronto Blue Jays.
Six games behind the Yankees in the AL East at the time of the trade, the Jays hoped Price would shore up their rotation down the stretch. He certainly did that, winning nine of his 10 decisions in 11 starts. But Price had a rough postseason, going 1-2 and getting a no-decision in Toronto’s Game 6 ALCS loss that sent the Kansas City Royals to the World Series.
Equally as impactful was the return to the Tigers. That return included two players who would become principals for Detroit, pitchers Matt Boyd and Daniel Norris. Boyd, who is still there seven seasons later, continues to average about 15 starts per season; he has run up a 9.2 career WAR for the Tigers. Norris added 6.1 WAR before leaving in midseason 2021 for Milwaukee and later Chicago’s North Side.
The math: Price: +2.6 WAR for Toronto; Boyd and Norris +15.3 WAR for Detroit. Net impact: +17.9