David Price has been traded to the Detroit Tigers, according to a report from Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. The move was part of a three-team deal that will send Seattle Mariners shortstop Nick Franklin to the Tampa Bay Rays and Austin Jackson to Seattle. The Rays also get 25-year-old starting pitcher Drew Smyly from Detroit.
And with that, Thursday’s trade deadline was anything but uneventful.
Two of the best lefthanded pitchers in the game found new homes before the 4 p.m. deadline passed. Jon Lester and Jonny Gomes were traded to the Oakland A’s earlier in the day in exchange for Yoenis Cespedes. The Red Sox also dealt John Lackey to the St. Louis Cardinals for Joe Kelly and Allen Craig.
[Related: David Price thought trade deadline had already passed]
What makes this deadline — which has been one of the most exciting in recent history — so interesting is the amount of big names that have exchanged. Typically when we see top-tier starting pitching like Lester and Price traded, a boatload of prospects are involved. For whatever reason, Thursday’s deadline was more about star power than prospects. We have no complaints about that.
Starting pitching wins in the postseason. The A’s and Tigers are two of the best teams in the American League, and both have drastically improved their starting rotations. The Mariners also picked up some much-needed offense by adding Jackson. Almost all of the teams involved in Thursday’s blockbuster deals did well for themselves on some level, at least on paper.
