MLB Rumors: Miami Marlins among teams interested in David Price?
By Hayden Kane
The Tampa Bay Rays will likely trade ace left-handed pitcher David Price between now and July 31st. He is an intriguing trade chip because he is not a free agent until after the 2015 season. That wrinkle creates more interest and more possibilities than typical deadline deals.
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Perhaps no rumor better embodies that situation than this one: the Miami Marlins and their penny-pinching, generally icky owner Jeffrey Loria are among the teams scouting Price for a potential deal. Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times notes that the Marlins are one of many teams interested in a column about Price on Sunday:
"The Cardinals have been watching the Rays closely recently, the Giants and Dodgers (whom many around baseball consider the favorites for Price) at times. The Braves, especially after Gavin Floyd‘s injury, seem like a possibility, and maybe there’s a surprise candidate, such as the Marlins, who also were scouting Price on Friday. Among other AL teams, the Angels, A’s and Indians seem likely candidates."
Does anybody actually believe that the Marlins would explore a big dollar extension to keep Price beyond 2015? No, and with that the most remote of possibilities, their potential interest in trading for Price speaks to a different possibility.
As Topkin also notes in his column, teams could deal for Price and then look to flip him again at the 2015 deadline. In that situation, if it plays out right, that team would get Price for a playoff run this season and then get the prospects in return for him next season.
The execution of such a plan would be challenging, of course, especially given the assets it would require to add him this season. But if there’s a team with the savvy in their front office to pull it off, it just might be the Marlins.