UPDATE:
Earlier this week it was mentioned the Detroit Tigers were waiting to determine their status as buyers or sellers before the trade deadline depending on how their three-game series went against the Tampa Bay Rays. Well, it hasn't gone well and now there's a greater chance David Price is dealt.
And if he is, the Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees and Toronto Blue Jays are "poised to have an all-out bidding war of prospects" for the left-hander once he's made available, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today Sports.
All of this is quite interesting given the circumstances that surround each club, given the news and rumors in the past couple of days.
First of all, multiple reports on Wednesday suggested the Tigers will be buyers at the deadline and they're specifically looking at Cincinnati Reds' starter Mike Leake. General manager Dave Dombrowski also told Jon Heyman of CBS Sports that the Tigers are "doing everything we can to try and qualify for the playoffs."
As for those interested in Price, there remain a number of other question marks as well.
The Dodgers just acquired starting pitcher Mat Latos (not yet confirmed by the team) in a five-player trade with the Miami Marlins and gave up three prospects in the deal. They are reportedly unwilling to part ways with their top two prospects, Corey Seager and Julio Urias. Price is likely to command a return of at least one top prospect and the Dodgers' farm system may no longer be deep enough (depending on who they gave up in the trade with Miami) beyond those two to acquire him.
As I wrote yesterday, #Dodgers could still deal for a 2nd starter after trading for Latos. But this greatly lessens any sense of urgency
— Jayson Stark (@jaysonst) July 29, 2015
As for the Yankees, their farm system is gradually improving as general manager Brian Cashman vowed to do just that in the offseason. Like the Dodgers, Cashman seemingly does not want to trade top prospects Luis Severino and Aaron Judge and the club may not have much more beyond those two that would pique Dombrowski's interest. First baseman Greg Bird, shortstop Jorge Mateo and catcher Gary Sanchez could be options, but the Tigers are pretty much set at all of those positions for the foreseeable future with Miguel Cabrera, Jose Iglesias and James McCann.
Previous rumors suggested the Yankees were unwilling to give up Severino or Judge in a deal for Hamels, who is under control through at least 2018.
And finally: the Blue Jays. General manager Alex Anthopoulos just landed shortstop Troy Tulowitzki in a mammoth deal and surrendered three prospects, two of which were top-five in the organization (Jeff Hoffman and Miguel Castro). Would he risk giving up more top prospect(s) to acquire a rental that is highly unlikely to remain with the team after this season? Toronto does need a starting pitcher, but they also need to be mindful of the future as R.A. Dickey, Mark Buehrle and Marco Estrada will be free agents after 2015. Anthopoulos also mentioned earlier in the season that he prefers not to acquire rental players before the deadline.
But hey, we've already seen a number of aggressive and unexpected moves in the past few days, so nothing can really be ruled out until 4:00 p.m. ET on Friday. Just keep these three teams in mind if the Tigers do make Price available.
