Detroit Tigers Trade Rumors: Team Will Listen to Offers for Price and Cespedes
By Matt Snyder
Justin Verlander was back to his old self on Wednesday afternoon, pitching a gem of a game in the Detroit Tigers‘ 2-1 win over the Tampa Bay Rays. His final line was an impressive eight innings pitched with ten strikeouts, zero walks, four hits, and just one earned run.
Some wondered whether the return of “Must See JV” would enough to convince the Tigers front office to go all-in on another playoff chase, but Jayson Stark of ESPN is reporting that the Tigers are telling teams that they’re going to be in “reboot” mode at the deadline.
#Tigers called teams today & told them they're "rebooting." Will listen on David Price, Cespedes etc. More to come at http://t.co/gtnhE81RUu
— Jayson Stark (@jaysonst) July 29, 2015
Jason Beck of MLB.com was able to confirm this sentiment with Dave Dombrowski himself.
Dombrowski confirms: Tigers are “rebooting,” will listen on trades for pending free agents.
— Jason Beck (@beckjason) July 29, 2015
Rebooting isn’t the same as rebuilding — they’re not going to look to deal away any long-term assets — but it is an apparent recognition that 2015 simply isn’t their year. They’ll instead be looking to flip their free agents-to be, like David Price and Yoenis Cespedes, to begin positioning themselves for another run at the AL Central division in 2016.
The Los Angeles Dodgers have been one of the parties to be most interested in Price. They have some irons in the fire with the Philadelphia Phillies and Cole Hamels, but Bob Nightengale’s report seems to imply that they’d rather have price if he’s available. The Dodgers aren’t the only option for Price, however, as other teams may be willing to join a bidding war.
The #Dodgers and #Rangers appear to be front runners now for #Phillies Hamels, but #Dodgers still waiting on #Tigers Price
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) July 29, 2015
Jon Heyman reports that the New York Mets are still looking for a big bat to go in their outfield. There are no up-to-the-minute rumors here, but the Mets were reported to have some interest a few days ago. Heyman also confirms that young starting pitcher Ryan Wheeler has been included in some of the discussions, and idea that was discussed on these electronic pages in the past. He’d be an unlikely but excellent return.
Listening to offers isn’t quite the same as being in full-on sell mode, but for now it looks like that’s the direction the Tigers will ultimately take at the trade deadline. I think this will actually please most of the fan base.
Next: A David Price Bidding War?