Offseason trade target: David Price

[Sports Guy]

Price is signed for one more year at 32M.  As per the deal with Boston, the Red Sox are paying about half of the remaining 3 years of his contract, so he will cost around 16M.  It’s possible we could even get the Dodgers to eat some of that (roughly) 16M owed.

His K rate has fallen this year and he is missing bats at a slightly below average rate but it also wouldn’t surprise me to see some uptick in things if he is back starting and has more of a rhythm to his game.  

His walk rate is still good and the HR rate is adequate in today’s game.  His FIP is sub 4 and he has an ERA+ of 110.

My guess is that you could get him for next to nothing in the offseason.  Just unloading most or all of his contract would suffice. Trading some of the 40 man roster filler (or those who soon need to be added) should get the deal done.  
 

There is risk in this that he falls apart at his age, that the K rate keeps declining, etc…but it’s a 1 year deal that could pay big dividends for the team.  Bringing in an intelligent, vet leader to the staff is also an added bonus here.

[ChrisP]

Good thought, except that he's cheap (for LA) insurance in the 'pen. 

[Sports Guy]

1 minute ago, ChrisP said:

Good thought, except that he's cheap (for LA) insurance in the 'pen. 

He is and they don't care about the luxury tax but I tend to think they would rather do something different with that money.

New CBA rules could make them think twice about the luxury tax too.

[sportsfan8703]

I like this idea. If we could get the Dodgers to eat 4mm then that would cost us 12mm with the good possibility of dealing him at the deadline. 
 

I’m a big fan of stabilizing the rotation to find out what we have as back end rotation guys and if a bullpen can get situated. Hall is hurt. Maybe out for all of next year. A rotation of Means, Grod, and Price could really solidify the rotation. 
 

After taking off 2020 for COVID, the. Pitching out the pen a lot this year, we could be getting Price with a fresh arm and healthy. 

[Ripken]

1 hour ago, sportsfan8703 said:

Hall is hurt. Maybe out for all of next year.

 

Where are you getting that?

 

[Gentile4]

$12m for a 36 yr old David Price isn't somewhere I want to go.

[Just Regular]

Hey, he's about the same underwater as Chris Davis...

Its a plausible idea, but I would be nervous unlike Cole Hamels or Noah Syndergaard who would have to actually accept a Baltimore gig for ~1-year/$10M of their own free will, Price would be a reluctant Oriole in this circumstance.   

The 2022 opportunities for any Dodger are so fluid until the postseason is over - they could all experience anything between being World Series heroes and left off the 1st round roster - org's decision.

[Sports Guy]

18 minutes ago, OrioleDog said:

Hey, he's about the same underwater as Chris Davis...

Its a plausible idea, but I would be nervous unlike Cole Hamels or Noah Syndergaard who would have to actually accept a Baltimore gig for ~1-year/$10M of their own free will, Price would be a reluctant Oriole in this circumstance.   

The 2022 opportunities for any Dodger are so fluid until the postseason is over - they could all experience anything between being World Series heroes and left off the 1st round roster - org's decision.

Noah isn’t signing here.  He has Rays written all over him imo. 
 

And Price isn’t close to Davis in terms of value or whatever.  He’s far more valuable.

[Sports Guy]

31 minutes ago, Gentile4 said:

$12m for a 36 yr old David Price isn't somewhere I want to go.

Why?  He probably represents the best option that we can bring here that actually could be pretty good.  We would have to give up next to nothing for him and all we do is take on some money, which the team has plenty of and money that won’t prevent them from doing anything.  
 

Plus, if he pitches well, you can maybe flip him And not spend all 12M anyway.

[Just Regular]

8 minutes ago, Sports Guy said:

Noah isn’t signing here.  He has Rays written all over him imo. 
 

And Price isn’t close to Davis in terms of value or whatever.  He’s far more valuable.

Correct with the Red Sox putting in half, but admit I have a blind spot for that sort of thing, just seeing an old great pitcher at the end with 1/32 owed.   I think 2022 Price mid-case is probably worth about 1/8 like so many JA Happ type guys were able to manage last offseason, and thus about the same 23 underwater as Davis.   I do wonder if last day of the month he gets separate paychecks from the Red Sox, Dodgers, and perhaps a 3rd employer next year.    The financial shell game could be even more fun if say the Red Sox failed to retain Eduardo, and then perhaps needed him back.

Guys like Price and the game how it is today, its hard to guess what they could be for 190 innings anymore.   The Dodgers don't need or want him to stretch out that far.   Price himself got the October gorilla off his back the Red Sox year, so chilling most of the summer and firing the best bullets he has left in October is perhaps fine by him.   The fine line famous pitchers walk with that sort of thing is the risk they fall out of being one of their team's best 8 pitchers.

[Sports Guy]

14 minutes ago, OrioleDog said:

Correct with the Red Sox putting in half, but admit I have a blind spot for that sort of thing, just seeing an old great pitcher at the end with 1/32 owed.   I think 2022 Price mid-case is probably worth about 1/8 like so many JA Happ type guys were able to manage last offseason, and thus about the same 23 underwater as Davis.   I do wonder if last day of the month he gets separate paychecks from the Red Sox, Dodgers, and perhaps a 3rd employer next year.    The financial shell game could be even more fun if say the Red Sox failed to retain Eduardo, and then perhaps needed him back.

Guys like Price and the game how it is today, its hard to guess what they could be for 190 innings anymore.   The Dodgers don't need or want him to stretch out that far.   Price himself got the October gorilla off his back the Red Sox year, so chilling most of the summer and firing the best bullets he has left in October is perhaps fine by him.   The fine line famous pitchers walk with that sort of thing is the risk they fall out of being one of their team's best 8 pitchers.

I honestly have no idea what any of this has to do with the Os trading for him.

[Frobby]

1 hour ago, Ripken said:

 

Where are you getting that?

 

No reason to expect Hall is out even at the beginning of next year, much less all year.  But he is hurt.  And it’s pretty questionable whether he’ll be ready for the majors next year considering he only threw 31.2 innings this year in AA.

[Pickles]

This is a good thread.  It's easy- and I've chided you before- to just say the team "should" be better and "should" have acquired better players, but to lay out a specific player is something that can actually be discussed.

My point of contention here would be I don't think Price can be had for next to nothing.  He'll cost talent.

All things being equal, I would prefer to up the class of FA pitcher we were looking at than to make this particular trade.

But the idea is not without merit.

[Sports Guy]

8 hours ago, Pickles said:

This is a good thread.  It's easy- and I've chided you before- to just say the team "should" be better and "should" have acquired better players, but to lay out a specific player is something that can actually be discussed.

My point of contention here would be I don't think Price can be had for next to nothing.  He'll cost talent.

All things being equal, I would prefer to up the class of FA pitcher we were looking at than to make this particular trade.

But the idea is not without merit.

I guess it does depend on ones definition of nothing.

I don’t think we would have to trade anything inside the top 15 prospects or so.  I think we could trade redundant, replaceable pieces that we won’t miss.  Now, there could be talent in one of those players but I think a package of say, Ortiz and Sedlock (just picking 2 names out of thin air) could get it done.  Something like that.    To me, that’s basically nothing or very little.  Not that those guys don’t have some talent but it’s not anything we will miss.

[interloper]

I think we'd be paying a lot of money for a guy who probably wouldn't take the hill as much as we'd hope.