The David Price sweepstakes ended in the Motor City. In a three-team deal, the Detroit Tigers landed the star left-hander, formerly of the Tampa Bay Rays, while giving up a star of their own in center fielder Austin Jackson.
MLB.com's Joey Nowak reported that the Tigers acquired Price just minutes before the 4:00 p.m. EDT non-waiver trade deadline. To get him, they dealt Jackson to the Seattle Mariners. Jackson left the Tigers' game with the White Sox in the seventh inning when the deal became official. Jackson was hitting .270 with 4 HR and 32 RBI in 99 games with the Tigers.
In addition, lefty Drew Smyly goes from Detroit to Tampa Bay, and Seattle sends shortstop Nick Franklin to the Rays as well. Smyly was 6-9 with a 3.77 ERA for Detriot, and Franklin hit .128 with 2 RBI in 17 games for the Mariners.
The Tigers made this move as much for the postseason as they did for the strecth run. After seeing their toughest potential playoff competitor, the Oakland Athletics, acquire Jon Lester from the Red Sox, Tigers general manager Dave Dombrowski countered with what Nowak called "the biggest splash of all."
Price was 11-8 with Tampa Bay, but he got low run support for much of the first half. He had an ERA of 3.11 and a WHIP of 1.05. In his last 10 starts, Price was 7-3, with 2.05 ERA. He is 82-47 with a 3.18 ERA in his career, all with the Rays, which dates back to late 2008.
The Tigers now have the last three A.L. Cy Young winners in their rotation: Justin Verlander (2011), Price (2012), and Max Scherzer (2013).