Tigers acquire David Price

[Pedro 4 99MVP]

Drew Smyly is a good young pitcher, but to me the Rays got raped here.  I have been watching all the trade deadline specials; ESPN, MLB Network and NESN, why isn't this a bigger topic of conversation. For hours I watched these "experts" say the Rays should be able to get 4 players, 2 of which are A players or prospects. Then when they don't get anything close to that, nobody criticizes them. Why???
 
From a Red Sox perspective, and I know TB probably didn't want to trade him within the division, couldn't the Sox have done better? Betts is better than Franklin, they have many young pitchers, so they could have offered 2 instead of just Smyly. And a single A lottery ticket...I would give that up every time to get Price. I think other teams that probably didn't even think they could afford Price are now wishing they would have made an offer. I think a lot of teams could have beat this offer.
Betts, Ranaudo, RDLR, and single A lottery ticket for Price. Seems like a better haul for TB and a deal that the Sox should have been willing to make. We would have an ace for next year and a year and a half to convince Price to sign long term. 

 

[Soxfan in Fla]

Price didn't want to come here. He was bigger than the Red Sox.

 

[dcmissle]

 
Yeah, wonderboy spit the bit. And if they were going to move him, wtf were they doing letting him start the other night? 
 
More than shocked that even after Lester was gone, they got this for a package. 

You get the sense they got caught in between, decided they weren't in the race after all, and maybe panicked. Which is a bit weird cause they had the offseason to orchestrate a deal, and could have waited until Lester signed to shop him to the losers.

You will Peter King criticizing the Goodell before Friedman gets second guessed for this.

 

[FanSinceBoggs]

The popular perception is that the Rays didn't get enough for Price.  In this case I think the popular perception is correct.  I'm very surprised by this deal.  Why not hold on to Price to see if a better offer comes along over the winter?
 
It is also worth noting that Price's value is attached to draft pick compensation, which the Rays no longer have but could have had if they held on to him through 2015.  The Rays should have held out for another prospect, a guy like J.Crawford for example, since the Tigers will now get a draft pick for Price if they don't resign him.  If they do resign him, they will essentially transfer that QO draft pick to Scherzer's free agency, since Price will probably get the money that the Tigers offered Scherzer. 

 

[DJnVa]

 
I laughed.

 
Detroit responded:
 

 

[Plympton91]

 
Ellsbury is not walking back through the door.  Let it go

 
How does a post comparing Nick Franklin's struggles to date in the major leagues despite a stellar minor league track record to Jackie Bradley's struggles to date in the major leagues despite a slightly less stellar minor league track record have fuck all to do with Jacoby Ellsbury?   The point is that in assessing the Price trade I think people are underestimating the return that the Rays got.   Had the Red Sox gotten this package for John Lester I'd hope that everyone would be dancing in the freaking streets.  Frankly, Smyly straight up for Lester would have been a great return, leaving off the two prospects.  Not that I'm disappointed in getting Cespedes at all, I just don't see the lopsidedness here that others do.

 

[VORP Speed]

I think the popular perception is based on a stale assessment of the market. The Rays shopped Price aggressively last winter and again at this deadline. Two points define a line, and my guess is that the Rays saw that line heading in the wrong direction and did not have confidence they could get more in the coming off-season. Top-rated prospects are being much more highly valued league-wide today and that trend appears to still be on the upswing. The Rays are a victim of their own success to some extent, as the market corrects for the one-sided prospect hauls ahead of the curve front offices pulled off over the last several years. Sucks if you're the Rays fan, as these trades were the team's lifeblood, but you have to deal with the market as it exists today.

 

[joe dokes]

The popular perception is that the Rays didn't get enough for Price.  In this case I think the popular perception is correct.  I'm very surprised by this deal.  Why not hold on to Price to see if a better offer comes along over the winter?
 
It is also worth noting that Price's value is attached to draft pick compensation, which the Rays no longer have but could have had if they held on to him through 2015.  The Rays should have held out for another prospect, a guy like J.Crawford for example, since the Tigers will now get a draft pick for Price if they don't resign him.  If they do resign him, they will essentially transfer that QO draft pick to Scherzer's free agency, since Price will probably get the money that the Tigers offered Scherzer. 

 
I think folks are being too hard on the Rays here.
 
The downside of waiting til winter is the loss of the value of the last two months to a pennant contender.  Before a season starts, while everyone theoretically sees themselves as a contender, on July 31 it's much more real, and in some ways it may yield a greater haul, even though fewer teams might be buyers.  And in winter, traders are competing with FA-signers.

 

[Marbleheader]

Mad Dog killing Tampa right now.

 

[Bergs]

 
I think folks are being too hard on the Rays here.
 
The downside of waiting til winter is the loss of the value of the last two months to a pennant contender.  Before a season starts, while everyone theoretically sees themselves as a contender, on July 31 it's much more real, and in some ways it may yield a greater haul, even though fewer teams might be buyers.  And in winter, traders are competing with FA-signers.

 
This is all well and good in theory, but in reality, they got what they got, and pretty much everyone is in agreement that it was surprisingly little. If the marginal value of this phenomenon you outline here is what we saw yesterday, then I would argue that marginal value has an upward bound of zero.

 

[The Gray Eagle]

Haha bush league Devil Rays and your 4 fans, that's all you got for Price while your team chose to blow up your pennant race to do it. 
 
I won't make fun of Price though, as he could possibly be back on the trade market after this season, depending on what happens. And he is not with a division rival anymore. You never know what might happen. 

 

[twibnotes]

Drew Smyly is a good young pitcher, but to me the Rays got raped here.  I have been watching all the trade deadline specials; ESPN, MLB Network and NESN, why isn't this a bigger topic of conversation. 

Mad Dog Russo had an awesome rant on "High Heat" today (on MLB Network). Ripped the Rays to shreds.

"That is the worst trade I've ever seen...the return is terrible. That is an atrocious trade!!"

 

[Snodgrass'Muff]

Mad Dog killing Tampa right now.

 
He just touched on the city memes as well. It's a rare moment when I enjoy Russo, but that was pretty awesome.
 

He agrees with you in his edit. 

 
It's probably asking a bit much to expect people to read more than the first 13 words of a post.

 

[moondog80]

 
Detroit responded:
 

 
 
Why is there a circle around that one guy in Tampa?

 

[rodderick]

Smyly is a good pitcher, but his splits against RHB are worse than Masterson's versus lefties. Until he finds a way to overcome that somewhat, I wouldn't count on him becoming anything more than what he is right now. There are some small parks and some good righties in the AL East. Count me among those who found the return very underwhelming.

 

[phrenile]

Why is there a circle around that one guy in Tampa?

http://zackhample.mlblogs.com/2011/08/04/8311-at-tropicana-field/

 

[Dewy4PrezII]

 
I laughed.

That would be funny if the Rays had more than one fan. 

 

[Plympton91]

That's a pretty dickish thing for a public entity to post (the side by side pictures), but what else would you expect from something associated with the Rays.

 

[moondog80]

That's a pretty dickish thing for a public entity to post (the side by side pictures), but what else would you expect from something associated with the Rays.

I had the same thought. This strikes me as worse than most of the things we get outraged over these days.

 

[Reverend]

I'm not sure they are associated with the Rays, per se--it's just the local FOX affiliate.
 
For those keeping score, they conceded defeat.