Detroit Tigers Trade Rumors: Dealing Yoenis Cespedes could lead slugger back

Considering his connections to current Chicago Cubs’ manager Joe Maddon, Detroit Tigers’ starting pitcher David Price has been a popular subject within Cubs’ trade rumors. With the Tigers only three games out in the wild-card race, there continues to be a realistic chance that he stays put regardless of the clause in his contract. With the reasonable expectation that Price could be a rental arm for the postseason chase, teams would rightfully be loath to give up elite prospects that are under team control several years into the future. On the season, Price owns a 9-3 record with a 2.32 ERA in 132 innings. This would allow the Tigers to get as much as they can for him instead of settling for the compensatory draft pick that they would receive by offering the lefty a qualifying offer. In fact, the Cubs’ front office is “among the first to inquire about Price”.

Price will assuredly sign a contract similar to the seven-year, $210 million deal that Scherzer inked with the Washington Nationals and those numbers are beyond the Tigers” “comfort level’. The soon-to-be 30-year-old Price is set to become a free agent the first week of November. Nor can it re-sign him as a free agent until after May 15 of the following year.

This could be the Cubs chance to make a huge splash during the trade deadline.

If Detroit did trade Cespedes, it would miss out on negotiating with him until that five-day window is over. Earlier in the week the Tigers, for the first time in a decade, decided to be sellers ahead of the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline, according to a USA Today report.

Cespedes has a unique clause in his contract that will end the Tigers’ ability to negotiate with the 29-year-old just five days after the World Series is over. Without sounding flippant and throwing around $150 million like it’s chump change, the Cubs could feasibly land Price in the offseason without having to part with any prospects.

Because of this, and the Tigers seemingly being too inconsistent to mount a legitimate playoff run, it would seem the best course of action would be to trade Price. Price would form a three-headed monster atop their rotation alongside left-hander Jon Lester, their prized offseason acquisition, and right-hander Jake Arrieta, who has quietly outperformed Lester by a fairly wide margin.