Dodgers: 4 teams that should be calling for a David Price trade

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The Los Angeles Dodgers just made the biggest move of the offseason for the second consecutive winter. After trading for Mookie Betts in 2020, the Dodgers signed 2020 National League Cy Young Trevor Bauer one year and one day later.

Bauer’s deal is for three seasons with opt-outs after each year. The total value of the contract is $105 million, although it is front-loaded with a $40 million salary in 2021 and a $45 million salary in 2022.

The Dodgers now find themselves above the Competitive Balance Tax, a line that Andrew Friedman has been careful of staying under before. With Justin Turner still unsigned and the need for a right-handed bat still prominent, the Dodgers may look to pull off the ‘ol salary dump trade.

If so, one of the prime candidates to be traded is David Price.

I am as excited as the next person to see how good Price could be in Los Angeles, but the Dodgers are paying $16 million of his $32 million salary. Price is still talented, though, and with the Red Sox covering that nice salary chunk, the Dodgers could look to flip Price to a team that needs starting pitching, taking advantage of their clear surplus.

A trade would look something like Price and a backend top-30 prospect (someone such as Omar Estevez) for a player to be named later. The real acquisition is the salary relief.

So who should be calling the Los Angeles Dodgers?

4. Los Angeles Angels

The Los Angeles Dodgers nearly traded a pitcher to Anaheim last offseason.

After the Mookie Betts trade one year ago, it was reported that the Los Angeles Dodgers would be trading Joc Pederson and Ross Stripling to the Los Angeles Angels for Luis Rengifo. There were prospects rumored to be in the mix, but nothing was made official.

That trade fell apart after the Betts trade was delayed due to Brusdar Graterol’s physical with Boston. It ended up working out for the best, though. Graterol was great for LA, Pederson stayed with the Dodgers, and Stripling was flipped at midseason for a decent prospect.

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The Angels missed out on Stripling last time, but could still use pitching help, and is clearly willing to deal with their “cross-town” rivals. The team has added Alex Cobb and Jose Quintana this offseason, but I would not call either move a home run. Price would easily be the best addition of the group…and would probably be the best pitcher in Anaheim in 2021.

The Angels have shown no hesitation to spend in the past, and a two-year rental in Price is something that they should absolutely be interested in, especially considering they won’t have to really give up anything in return.

They were heavily rumored to grab Price last offseason when Boston was shopping him. Why not now?

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3. Toronto Blue Jays

David Price could join other former Los Angeles Dodgers pitchers Ross Stripling and Hyun-Jin Ryu in Toronto.

The Toronto Blue Jays are ready to contend for the World Series and are making moves under that assumption. Toronto already has a really solid young core, and added to that this offseason by signing George Springer and Kirby Yates.

The starting pitching staff is easily the weak point of the team, and the Blue Jays should take any starting pitching help they can get. This Price situation is perfect for Toronto, and it would be silly for them to pass up on the opportunity.

Price is not going to completely turn the tide of the Jays’ pitching staff, but he is a veteran innings-eater who has been there and done that in the MLB Playoffs before. Adding Price to the rotation suddenly gives the Blue Jays a solid five-man outlook.

A staff of Hyun-Jin Ryu, David Price, Nate Pearson, Robbie Ray and Ross Stripling is not bad whatsoever. Ryu, Price, Ray and Stripling all have All-Star ceilings that they have achieved in the past and Pearson is one of the best pitching prospects in baseball.

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The Jays already have two former Dodgers, so why not make it a third and trade for the player that they traded for back in 2015?

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2. Chicago White Sox

The Los Angeles Dodgers could do business with their Camelback Ranch co-tenants.

The Chicago White Sox are in a similar position as the Toronto Blue Jays, but they are further along in the process. Chicago took that next step to make the MLB Playoffs last season and can now build on that and turn it into a legitimate World Series run.

Quite frankly, the American League is pretty wide open in 2021. The Tampa Bay Rays got worse, the New York Yankees are the favorites but don’t have the greatest pitching staff, the Houston Astros got worse, the Oakland Athletics lost pieces and the Minnesota Twins cannot win a playoff game.

It sounds crazy to say now, but the White Sox could absolutely make a World Series run and could square off against their Camelback Ranch co-tenants in the Fall Classic. Perhaps the Dodgers are the ones that could help them get there.

The White Sox are one arm away from a really good starting five. Depending on how the year pans out, Price could be the fifth-best starter in Chicago, which is a really good position to be in if you are the White Sox.

With Price, Chicago’s rotation would consist of Lucas Giolito, Lance Lynn, Dallas Keuchel, Michael Kopech and David Price, with Dylan Cease as the just-in-case sixth option.

Chicago has money to spend (we saw that with the Liam Hendriks signing) and are only 15th in payroll at this point.

1. Milwaukee Brewers

The Los Angeles Dodgers won’t trade with just any National League team.

The Los Angeles Dodgers are not going to send David Price to a team that they think is a threat to win the National League pennant. He won’t go to the St. Louis Cardinals, New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies or Atlanta Braves. He certainly won’t be traded in-division.

The list of National League teams that the Dodgers would be okay trading Price to is pretty small, with the number of teams that could actually be interested looking even smaller. In fact, I think that list is down to one.

The Milwaukee Brewers.

Any team that thinks they have no chance at the MLB Playoffs this season is not going to trade for Price. However, any team that has a legitimate chance of winning the pennant won’t get a chance to trade for him. Milwaukee is the perfect in-between team.

Milwaukee is good enough to convince themselves that they could win the pennant, but are not talented enough to realistically beat the Dodgers in the MLB Playoffs. Of course, anything is possible, but the Dodgers are far more talented.

This is like the Yasiel Puig trade with the Cincinnati Reds. The Reds were all in on being a playoff team in 2019 even if the talent on the roster indicated otherwise. Kyle Farmer was the only player in that trade to make it to the end of the season in Cincy.

The Brewers are not a big-market team but they have a really small payroll. They could absolutely afford to take on one year of Price, and should be willing to if it means getting a prospect as well.

Cincinnati Reds starting pitcher Trevor Bauer (27) smiles as he returns to the dugout after the first inning against the San Diego Padres at Great American Ball Park on Monday, Aug. 19, 2019.
San Diego Padres At Cincinnati Reds

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Price would slot in as the Brewers’ third starter behind Brandon Woodruff and Corbin Burnes, giving them that third playoff arm that is desperately needed.

And if it does not work out, then the Brewers can flip Price at the deadline to a contender. Win-win.

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