Dodgers News: Olney Thinks Dodgers Will Be In On Rays’ David Price
With the Dodgers preparing for their NLCS matchup with the St. Louis Cardinals, the NL West champions have been in the news lately for another reason.
The Tampa Bay Rays were eliminated by the Boston Red Sox in the ALDS, beginning speculation that they could be shopping their left-handed ace David Price. The 2012 AL Cy Young award has two years of arbitration left and can become a free agent after the 2015 season.
Last night on the ESPN Baseball Tonight podcast, analyst Buster Olney mentioned who he believed would be the team most likely to pursue the Rays’ ace.
Executives think that it’s gonna be the Los Angeles Dodgers who would be the most aggressive in going after David Price.
Olney was speaking with fellow ESPN baseball analyst Tim Kurkjian.
Kurkjian said that nothing would surprise him and that Dodgers have the “resources, money and everything it takes to do stuff like that now.” He also added that the earliest Price would be traded is this offseason.
Price went 10-8 with a 3.33 ERA this season and missed six weeks with a strained triceps. The Dodgers have been rumored lately to be in the running for the former Vanderbilt pitcher; however, they haven’t commented on any rumors. This afternoon, Price went so far as to say he’s “preparing” himself to be traded as he understands the Rays philosophy.
If traded, Price could join a rotation with fellow former Cy Young Award winners Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke to form an impressive trio. It would also give the Dodgers another lefty joining Kershaw and rookie Hyun-Jin Ryu.
Price had a down year in terms of past performance but went 20-5 with a 2.65 ERA in 2012, while dealing with the AL East, one of the top divisions year in and year out.The left-hander was left in the bullpen warming up for a potential extra inning in Game 4 of the ALDS. Price went seven innings and allowed seven runs in Game 1 of the series.
The Dodgers have a task at hand with the NLCS, but the rumors will continue to swirl around them as long as there’s high-priced players on the open market.
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In case you missed it, here’s the home run that sent the Dodgers to the NLCS!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJgp8vkSa3k
I just don’t see the Dodgers continuing to dismantle the rebuilding farm system for this purpose. Plus, what do they do with the returning Billingsley and Beckett? Billingsley has a lot of potential upside, and no one is going to eat Beckett’s contract.