The Toronto Blue Jays have acquired left-handed pitcher David Price from the Detroit Tigers, according to Jon Heyman of CBSSports. Toronto will be responsible for the rest of Price’s salary, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports. The Tigers will receive left-handed pitchers Daniel Norris, Matt Boyd and Jairo Labourt for Price. This is the second blockbuster trade of the week for the Blue Jays, who acquired Troy Tulowitzki on Monday.
This is the second time in the past two seasons that Price has been featured a blockbuster trade. The Tampa Bay Rays traded Price to the Tigers on July 31, 2014 for Drew Smyly, Nick Franklin and willy Adames. The deal also sent Austin Jackson to the Mariners.
The 29-year-old Price is having a great season so far, posting 2.53 ERA in 146 innings. The five-time All-Star and former Cy Young winner also has a great strikeout to walk ratio of 4.76:1. Price will also be able to hit free agency with out worrying about a qualifying offer holding him back.
Toronto will give up a young promising starter in Norris, who’s under team control through 2020. The 22-year-old lefty has already seen big league action, posting a 4.20 ERA in 30 innings for the Blue Jays in 2014 and 2015. He’s struggled somewhat in Triple-A Buffalo this season with a record of 3-10 and a 4.27 ERA and a WHIP of 1.511. It looks like he has had problems with his command, as he’s averaging 4.1 walks per nine innings. We rated Norris as the top prospect in Tornoto’s organization earlier this year.
Labourt, 21, has played five seasons in the minors, posting a 3.12 ERA in 291 1/3 innings. The young lefty looks the part of a promising prospect, but definitely has work to do.
Boyd, 24, was a sixth round pick by Toronto in the 2013 draft and he’s been great in his three seasons in the minors, posting an ERA of 2.77 over 270 innings and a WHIP of 0.985. The lefty has already seen limited action at the major league level, giving up 11 earned runs in 6 2/3 innings.
This move looks like a good one for the Tigers, who get a very promising prospect in Norris. On the other hand the Blue Jays got the ace they’ve been looking, as they seek to make it to the postseason for the first time since 1993.
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