Detroit Tigers trade pitcher David Price to Toronto Blue Jays
The Detroit Tigers have traded lefthanded starting pitcher David Price to the Toronto Blue Jays, the Blue Jays announced Thursday.
Jon Heyman of CBS Sports reported the trade first.
In exchange, the Tigers will receive three lefthanded minor league pitchers: Daniel Norris, Matt Boyd and Jairo Labourt. Norris was the Jays' second-round pick in 2011.
Price had been the subject of many trade rumors leading up to the July 31 deadline and drew interest from several other teams, including the Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago Cubs, New York Yankees, Houston Astros and San Francisco Giants.
This is the second straight season that he has been traded before the league deadline. The Tampa Bay Rays sent him to Detroit on July 31, 2014 in a three-team trade.
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Price, 29, is 9–4 this season with a 2.53 ERA and 1.110 WHIP. In 146 innings, he has struck out 138 batters and walked 29.
A five-time All-Star, Price was the AL Cy Young Award winner in 2012.
Price fortifies a Toronto starting pitching rotation that has a 4.50 collective ERA, which ranks fifth-worst among MLB teams.
The Blue Jays have a 51–51 record and are seven games out of first place in the AL East, which is not the usual profile for a trade-deadline buyer. However, the Jays have one of the most statistically productive offenses in baseball, and their +100 run differential leads the American League.
In another splashy move this week, Toronto acquired shortstop Troy Tulowitzki and reliever LaTroy Hawkins from the Rockies in exchange for shortstop Jose Reyes and three minor league pitchers.
Norris will start on Sunday for the Tigers, sliding into Price's spot in the rotation, reports Jason Beck of MLB.com. The Blue Jays have not yet decided whether Price will start for them on Sunday, and his first start as a Blue Jay could be pushed to Monday, Beck reports.
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