Are The Atlanta Braves In David Price's Future?

Will David Price be donning a Braves cap next month? Photo Credit: USATSI

 

The David Price trade talks feel like they have been going on forever and with no end in sight. It is widely assumed that the Rays will trade their star ace pitcher at the trade deadline for some highly regarded prospects to put into their minor league system to grow and develop. The million dollar question of just where David Price will end up took an even more interesting turn after this new piece of news.

 

By: Michael Hanley

 

 

According to information Jon Heyman of CBS Sports has, if David Price were to have his way in this potential trade situation, he would prefer to take his talents to the Atlanta Braves. Here is the quote from Jon Heyman:

 

Rumor has it that if the Rays were to deal him, he'd most prefer the Atlanta Braves, which is the team closest to Tennessee, and that he'd least prefer teams that are far away. Geography seems to count for Price.

Now with any rumor like this you take it with a grain of salt, but it certainly makes sense from a geographical standpoint. He is a Tennessee native through and through and could still have easy access to his home state with Atlanta only being a few hours away by car. He would be pitching in a market in Atlanta that would be comfortable enough for him to pitch in and still have a private life outside of baseball, not be hounded by fans and media say if he were to pitch in New York or Boston. Plus he would be on a team that is in a win now mode and looking to make a push to a World Series title, not a middling team that is on the outside of contention.

 

Price would be a boon of course for the Braves to acquire for a second half push toward the postseason. He is one of those special pitchers that every team dreams of having on their pitching staff. Outside of all the talk of him being dealt at some point, he has put up a solid season so far on a last place Tampa Bay team. He is 9-7 with a 3.23 ERA, two complete games and 164 strikeouts to only 21 walks, an astounding ratio to have for  a starting pitcher.

 

He would slide right in at the top of the rotation for Atlanta, along with Julio Teheran, creating quite the powerful one two punch for opposing teams to have to go through. You could easily see Price get on a big roll if he were to get to pitch on a contending team like Atlanta. The precision and power of all of the different pitches he uses plus factoring in he will face one less quality bat in the lineup since the NL has no DH, Price could spark the Braves to a huge hot streak and take control of the NL East.

 

Another benefit to having Price is that It would add more depth to the pitching ranks for the club as they could slide Mike Minor or a fifth starter to the bullpen  which in turn would strengthen what is an already well rounded and strong bullpen for the Braves. Manager Fredi Gonzalez could really mix and match if he wanted to with the amount of high quality arms he would have then to choose from in certain late game situations. He could then give key guys in his bullpen like Craig Kimbrel, Anthony Varvaro a day off here or there if they need it after working  a solid stretch of games in a row and keep them a bit fresher as they go down the stretch run of the season.

 

It would take allot for this whole Price to the Braves dreams to ever become reality. The Rays will be asking for the moon and stars in terms of acquiring very highly touted prospects in exchange for such a talented and special pitcher in David Price. Those type of prospects do not exist within the Braves farm system as of right now. Atlanta only has prospects that could have potential upside and a nice career eventually when they come up to the big leagues, but none of them, at least from a scout’s perspective, scream future superstar, something Tampa Bay is trying to find as they let their superstar go off elsewhere.

 

The Braves have a ton of money tied up in their current  roster with long term deals for Simmons, Heyward, Johnson etc. That money will limit how much Atlanta could offer Price once he becomes a free agent and hits the open market. Many teams have more available money and assets to make  a good run at Price than the Braves currently have and will have going into the future.

 

It also will keep the Braves from being able to move any of those players should the Rays somehow find common ground with Atlanta on a potential trade. Tampa Bay is not looking to add any long term, money filled contracts to their payroll.They want, understandably, young players who they can have more financial control over and keep their payroll at the number and level they like to have it at.

 

While Price may prefer to pitch for the Braves in his heart,  the logistics and numbers for one do not look promising right now. So we still are at the wait and see place we have been with the David Price trade rumors. Maybe we get a resolution to this situation sooner rather than later.

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