Price expects Rays to trade him this winter

David Price told reporters he expects to be traded this off-season (AP)

Toronto Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos wasn’t exaggerating when he said that some interesting names might surface on the off-season trade market.

David Price and Max Scherzer may both be available in trades, according to reports published Thursday.


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Price told reporters that he expects the Tampa Bay Rays to trade him this off-season.

“If you go with what’s been done in the past, I guess you’re going to have to think you’re going to get traded,” Price said, according to Roger Mooney of the Tampa Tribune.

Meanwhile, “there’s also a very real chance” that the Detroit Tigers will trade Scherzer, according to Danny Knobler of CBS Sports.


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The Rays have traded starters Matt Garza and James Shields in recent years, and Price could be next now that he’s in line for a substantial raise from his $10.1 million salary. Price, the 2012 American League Cy Young winner, is on track to hit free agency following the 2015 season.

Scherzer is one year away from free agency, and it appears unlikely that he’ll pass up the chance to test the open market. Some observers tell Knobler they expect the Tigers to make significant off-season changes if they fail to advance to the American League Championship Series.

While the Blue Jays need starting pitching, obtaining either Scherzer or Price would cost a tremendous amount of talent. It’s safe to assume that Anthopoulos wasn’t referencing either pitcher when he spoke on Prime Time Sports Tuesday.

Alex Anthopoulos discusses the Blue Jays

“You go into the off-season not necessarily knowing other than the free agent market what’s out there and there’s been some interesting dialogues and there’s been some names that could become available via trade,” Anthopoulos said.

If the Rays trade Price, they’ll presumably work to send him outside of the American League East.

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