Time is running out for the Detroit Tigers. The club has been unable to make up the ground they've lost in the 10 games since the All-Star break and it appears as if David Price could be traded by the end of the week.
The deadline is Friday and Tigers' general manager Dave Dombrowski will have to make drastic decisions during crunch time. The latest rumors indicate Price could be dealt later this week as the team has fallen to 48-50, which leaves them 11.5 games behind the Kansas City Royals in the AL Central and four games behind the Minnesota Twins in the wild-card race.
Price's agent, Bo McGinnis, appeared on MLB Network Radio on Sunday to discuss the rumors surrounding his client, who would likely become the most coveted trade target in the MLB if made available before the deadline. Last week McGinnis said he thought the Tigers needed to go 5-3 in their remaining eight games before July 31 to convince Dombrowski to keep Price. They're 2-2 right now.
"...it's kind of hard to say I'm optimistic about us staying," McGinnis told Jim Bowden and Jim Duquette on the show. "Yet I have no doubt that Dave's [Dombrowski] going to drag it to Thursday or Friday. If I was in his shoes, that's what I would do, because this team was set up to win, and it's just kind of hard to throw in the towel."
With Johnny Cueto already having been traded to Kansas City, the main talks involve Cole Hamels right now and the Philadelphia Phillies are discussing with a number of clubs. If Price were to be made available the entire market would likely shift, but other teams are preparing for that to happen.
The San Francisco Giants are one of them, according to FOX Sports' Jon Morosi.
Morosi noted there are "no substantive talks yet" between the two sides because the Tigers still have yet to hash out their deadline plans, but the Giants' interest could be legitimate because they've been talking to the Phillies about Hamels as well. San Francisco is one game behind the Los Angeles Dodgers for the NL West lead and currently holds the second-wild card spot.
However, the Dodgers are one of the two top teams to land Hamels, so the Giants are likely aware they'll need a significant upgrade themselves if they want to stay atop the postseason race. San Fran's rotation is a bit of a weakness right now considering they've only gotten 10 starts out of Matt Cain and Jake Peavy so far in 2015 and aren't sure what to expect down the stretch. Additionally, veteran Tim Hudson owns a 4.80 ERA on the season and has only pitched seven innings or more once since the beginning of June. His ERA over that span is a 5.08.
At this point they really only know what they're getting when Madison Bumgarner or Chris Heston take the mound.
"Whether the Tigers are bold enough to deal Price is the big question," writes Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. "It would take some guts to get Price, considering you'd have to give up a few of your best prospects to land him, and then try to re-sign him. He will likely receive the largest free agent contract ever. That's what you have to prepare for."
The Giants have a few pitching prospects that could interest the Tigers, considering Detroit's rotation at the MLB level is atrocious and their minor league depth is weak. A couple of names to keep an eye on include Tyler Beede, Kyle Crick, Keury Mella, Clayton Blackburn, Adalberto Mejia and Ty Blach.
San Francisco also has a good chunk of money coming off the books in the offseason, so if they acquire Price before the deadline it's certainly possible they look to sign him once he hits free agency.
