David Price trade rumors: Rangers, Cubs lead long list of potential teams

Many people in baseball are well aware of the current contract situation surrounding David Price. Price is one of the best young pitchers in baseball and is thought by many to just be getting into his peak years for his MLB career. With a contract expiring in 2015, many people in baseball anticipate the Rays fielding all offers for the talented lefty and they expect Tampa Bay to get quite a catch in return.

Being a small market team does not mean there is an inability to make the playoffs, as the Rays have demonstrated once again this year, rather it is simply a challenge that can be overcome with shrewd business decisions. When Price hits free agency in 2015 there is little chance that the Rays will be able to afford to resign him anywhere close to the amount that he will be offered by other teams. Due to this reasoning, the Rays have been stockpiling young arms and have collected quite a pitching staff even without Price.

Joel Sherman from the New York Post, has been hearing some potential offers from quite a few clubs regarding the all-star’s services through 2015 and possibly beyond. The top team were the Rangers.

"The Rangers came up most often, probably because they have shortstop Jurickson Profar to front a deal. Nevertheless, Tampa Bay really likes its own Yunel Escobar (who is signed for the next two seasons at $5 million per) plus still has strong belief in Hak-Ju Lee, who with Archer was key to the Garza deal. He missed most of this season after tearing knee ligaments."

The Cubs were also included in his potential suitors list.

"The Cubs also were mentioned several times because they are deep in position prospects, notably Javier Baez, Albert Almora and Jorge Soler and have a top pitching prospect in C.J. Edwards, who coincidentally they obtained from Texas in July for Garza. Also, Cubs minor league pitching coordinator Derek Johnson was Price’s pitching coach at Vanderbilt."

Other teams included Arizona, San Diego, San Francisco, Cincinnati and Boston.

I think that the Rays will trade him this offseason. I don’t think the Rangers are going to be the answer because I don’t think the Rangers will give up Profar to get him. Look for the Cubs to make a splash with an acquisition. The Cubs could use a true front of the rotation ace and are going to be looking to make a splash this offseason to get the fans excited again. Price could be that answer.