Tampa Bay Rays Trade David Price to Detroit

The David Price era is over.

The Tampa Bay Rays traded their prized pitcher to the Detroit Tigers in a three-way deal with the Seattle Mariners.

The Rays will get Drew Smyly and Nick Franklin in return, while Austin Jackson will head to Seattle as part of the deal. The Rays also picked up minor league shortstop Willy Adames.

Price has spent seven years in Tampa Bay where he went 82-47 with a 3.18 ERA. He is a four-time All-Star and won the 2012 Cy Young Award.

This season, Price was 11-8 with a 3.11 ERA in 23 starts.

Price has heavily been rumoured to be traded for a long time now as his contract demands could never have been met by Tampa Bay.

After the Rays dismal start to the 2014 campaign, it was viewed as a foregone conclusion that Price would be moved at the trade deadline.

However, their recent surge back into contention put that into question and leading up to the trade deadline there had been reports that the Rays may or may not move Price before 4 p.m.

In the end, general manager Andrew Friedman pulled the trigger and dealt the 2007 first overall pick to the Tigers.

Price will remain in the American League but he wasn’t moved to a division rival, something that had to be avoided.

The Los Angeles Dodgers, St. Louis Cardinals, Seattle Mariners and Pittsburgh Pirates were the teams showing the most interest in Price as the deadline approached.

May 31, 2014; Seattle, WA, USA; Detroit Tigers starting pitcher

(33) during the game against the Seattle Mariners at Safeco Field. Seattle defeated Detroit 3-2. Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-USA TODAY Sports

In Nick Franklin, the Rays get a 23-year-old shortstop who can also play at second base. He’s played 119 major league games with the Mariners hitting .214 with 12 homers and 47 RBIs. He’s played in just 17 games in 2014 though.

For a middle infielder he has good pop in his bat and has speed. However, his OBP is .291 which needs to drastically improve. Franklin is also a Flroida native.

Drew Smyly will likely take Price’s spot in the rotation. In 2014, Smyly is 6-9 with a 3.77 ERA and has made 20 appearances, 17 of which were starts. For his career, he is 16-12 with a 3.46 ERA in 275.2 innings pitched.

He strikes out 8.6 batters per nine innings while walking 2.8.

Adames, 18, was hitting .269 at Single-A with West Michigan while adding six home runs and 50 RBIs in 98 games. He also has 14 doubles and 12 triples.

Despite numerous rumors, Price was the only Ray moved. Ben Zobrist, Matt Joyce and others are staying with Tampa.

The Tigers come to Tropicana Field from August 19-21.