ESPN Insider: Acquiring David Price makes sense for Arizona Diamondbacks

Tampa Bay Rays’ left-hander David Price expects to be traded. Plenty of his former teammates have been sent packing to other teams when their contracts are no longer financially viable for the small-market club.

Price is eligible for arbitration this offseason, and is expected to get a big bump from the $10.1 million he made in 2012, so his salary falls into that category for the Rays.

There is some speculation that the Arizona Diamondbacks would have interest in acquiring the 28-year-old former Cy Young Award winner, but everyone is wondering what the D-backs would have to give up.

In an ESPN Insider piece, Dan Szymborski pinpoints four teams that make sense for Price’s services, and just what those teams would have to part with.

And, you guessed it, the D-backs are on the list. Szymborski proposes a deal that would send shortstop Chris Owings, third baseman Matt Davidson and catcher Stryker Trahan to Tampa Bay.

Bringing in Price is the quickest way to match whatever the Dodgers are planning (and obviously would also keep the Dodgers from getting Price themselves) without spending $200 million. The problem that the Diamondbacks face is that they aren’t an ideal trade match for the Rays. Their best trade chip, RHP Archie Bradley, is almost certainly off limits, while Davidson doesn’t fill a position of need for Tampa Bay because of Evan Longoria.

The proposal is intriguing because it doesn’t include Bradley, who was named as the National League’s top pitching prospect in May by ESPN’s Keith Law.

And yes, this proposed deal would include three of the D-backs’ top ten prospects, but all three seemingly have their immediate big league futures blocked by established players Didi Gregorius, Martin Prado and Miguel Montero.

Unfortunately for Arizona fans, Szymborski also has the Dodgers on the list of sensible suitors for Price.

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