Detroit Tigers starter David Price will be a free agent after this season unless the team works out a contract extension with the left-hander. However, a new rumor suggests they may have a difficult time doing that.
Price was off to the best start of his MLB career through his first three outings. He was 1-0 with a 0.40 ERA and 0.806 WHIP until he faced the New York Yankees on Tuesday night and gave up eight earned runs on 10 hits and three walks in just 2 1/3 innings. After that game, George A. King III of the New York Post mentioned something interesting about Price's future free-agent endeavors.
"When David Price hits free agency following the season, a person who knows him from his time with Tampa Bay said the former Rays pitcher will prefer signing with an NL team because he loves to hit," King wrote.
This is yet another rumor that doesn't fall in the Tigers' favor. Earlier this week it was reported the left-hander is slated to receive a deal that will pay him in between Max Scherzer's seven-year, $210 million contract and Clayton Kershaw's seven-year, $215 million contract. He'll be turning 30 years old in August and Detroit may not want to gamble on another starter at that age.
The team signed Justin Verlander to a seven-year, $180 million deal with a $22 million vesting option for an eighth season when the right-hander just turned 30 (prior to the 2013 season). Since signing that contract, the 32-year-old is just 28-24 with a 3.99 ERA in 66 starts after going 41-13 with a 2.52 ERA in 67 starts the previous two seasons, and also winning the AL MVP and Cy Young award in 2011.
General manager Dave Dombrowski said the team has interest in retaining Price and the pitcher said he's open to contract extension talks, but after last year's fiasco with Max Scherzer it's clear Dombrowski won't be playing any games with Price. Scherzer rejected a six-year, $144 million extension before the 2014 season and the two sides never re-entered negotiations after that.
And if Price seriously wants to go to a National League team because he wants to bat more, the Tigers can't do anything to help him in that department and they'll likely explore other free-agent options when the time comes.
Let's not forget other big names such as Johnny Cueto, Jordan Zimmermann, Jeff Samardzija, Zack Greinke, Ian Kennedy, Doug Fister, Yovani Gallardo and others may be available in the offseason.
