Blue Jays: The best ways to take advantage of payroll crunches

Bringing back an old friend?

For what it’s worth, I haven’t heard any trade rumours associated with David Price yet, but I fully expect they’ll start at some point this offseason.

The former Blue Jay opted out of the 2020 season as a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers, and unfortunately missed out on celebrating a World Series championship with his teammates. Having been acquired from the Red Sox along with Mookie Betts last season, he’s actually yet to pitch for the Dodgers. That also makes me wonder if the defending champs will decide they don’t need him and his two years and 64 million left on his deal.

If the Dodgers look to off-load that money this winter, they’ll likely have to eat some cash in order to get it done. However, there’s an argument to be made that Price could be an interesting target to acquire on the trade market, especially after a season away from the mound to rest his body. At 35 years old, he’s not the dominant force that he once was, but I’m very intrigued to see how re-charged he looks in 2021.

Price was very open that he enjoyed his time in Toronto in 2015, and while the roster has seen a complete turnover since he was a Blue Jay, there are still plenty of factors that could appeal to the veteran. In theory, he’d also be a nice arm to slot along side Hyun Jin Ryu and Nate Pearson near the top of the rotation.

Honestly, there are probably better options available to the Blue Jays this winter, but Price is one veteran arm that I’d keep an eye on. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Dodgers were happy to rid themselves of as much of the financial commitment to him as possible, and that he could likely be had for a couple of low-level minor leaguers.