Oct 5, 2014; Detroit, MI, USA; Detroit Tigers starting pitcher David Price (14) warms up prior to game three of the 2014 ALDS baseball playoff game against the Baltimore Orioles at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports
Detroit Tigers Grab David Price At The Trade Deadline
The major issue with the 2014 Tigers as they approached the offseason was depth in the bullpen. But instead of acquiring a bullpen arm at the trade deadline, General Manager Dave Dombrowski decided to help the bullpen indirectly by trading for former Cy Young award winner David Price. The theory was theat Price would be able to take pressure off bullpen by going deep into games. Then when the postseason arrived, manager Brad Ausmus could move Rick Porcello to the bullpen to add depth.
Solid theory except for the fact that David Price struggled as a Detroit Tigers going 4-4 with a 3.59 ERA and a mediocre 1.149 WHIP. Price routinely pitched deep into games but never became the stopper the Detroit Tigers traded for at the deadline.
After the dust settled on the 2014 postseason stories, circulated that David Price was having trouble fitting into the Detroit Tigers tight-knit club house. Maybe it was the combined toll of being the subject of trade rumors or maybe it was his new surrounding but David Price never seemed comfortable. There is no stronger evidence of that than the 9-hit thumping he took at the hands of the Yankees, a team he is used to dominating.
Domborwski’s gamble on Price didn’t quite pay off last season. But with the stress of being traded and the failures of the 2014 postseason behind him David Price is poised to have a stellar season, his last before becoming a free agent for the first time in his career.
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