Though David Price has been the topic of much speculation during the Winter Meeting’s, if one thing is evident, none of the trade rumors have carried much weight. In fact, Price went out of his way to crush the hopes of every Mariners’ fan Wednesday. Ken Rosenthal noted in a series of tweets,
In short, David Price would not immediately sign a long-term deal with the Mariners if he were to be traded there. Blame it on the fact that they haven’t been contenders in 12 years, or blame it on the rain — whatever the case, it doesn’t look as though Price is heading to the Great Northwest anytime soon. As Ian Malinowski of DRaysBay asserts, perhaps Mariners’ fans should breathe a sigh of relief. After all,
“The value of trading David Price comes from the next two years of team control, when he will be paid $13 million (with an extra $4 million in deferred salary), and something in the vicinity of $17 million. Because he is an ace, he will likely produce far more value than that over those two years. After that, he will be free to leave, but in doing so he’ll decline a qualifying offer and net the team a draft pick.
His value does not come from the ability to extend him beyond those two years. Any team extending David Price will need to pay market rate, or nearly so, either in terms of a ton of money or in terms of risk from a long deal. And paying market price doesn’t make you a better team. It, by economic definition, makes you exactly as good a team as you were before.”
In other news, those dastardly Mariners not only took one potential first base candidate off the market Wednesday, they took two — Corey Hart and Logan Morrison. Hart is expected to take on the first base duties, while LoMo is expected hold down the fort in left field. The question begs: What will the Mariners do with Justin Smoak? Scott Weber of Lookout Landing thinks he could be traded to Tampa Bay as part of a package (ill fated, or otherwise) for David Price. Weber writes,
This is the second most popular theory being tossed around, with the idea being that Smoak could be sent to the Rays as a possible as part of a David Price deal. While the deal for Price seems a lot less likely now that his agent has interfered with negotiations and Z has stated his desire to keep Taijuan Walker, Smoak with Nick Franklin and James Paxton would be a good, logical trade for the Rays. It still doesn’t make much sense for the Mariners unless they add even more to surround Price with, but they’re clearly not done.
Though I don’t think the Rays would be willing to trade Price for Smoak, as I mentioned the other day, with the possible presence of both Kendrys Morales and/or Jesus Montero, there is the off chance that Tampa Bay will have an opportunity to acquire him in a lesser deal. From a defensive point of view, with five total errors in 121 games in 2013, a .995 fielding percentage, and an .828 RZR, Smoak could be a viable option for Tampa Bay. Forget that he’s projected to hit .238 in 2014. Steamer has him hitting 22 homers, driving in 72 RBI, and posting a .328 OBP and .404 SLG. Whatever the case, the Rays could have a new first baseman in the next few days.
According to Marc Topkin, (Andrew) Friedman says progress in the first base pursuit could be resolved in the “next few days.” He also said they have “a number of mature conversations going right now. Don’t forget, as of now Ike Davis, Mike Morse, Mark Reynolds, and Kevin Youiklis are still on the market.