One of the major offseason question marks was whether or not the Tampa Bay Rays would trade ace David Price prior to the 2014 season, and after an offseason full of rumors, Price has remained in a Rays uniform and will be the team's Opening Day starter. Does this mean the Rays trade rumors involving Price will finally be put to bed?
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According to MLB.com, Rays manager Joe Maddon announced Thursday what most people expected, Price will make his third-career Opening Day start for Tampa Bay when the team hosts the Toronto Blue Jays to kick off the 2014 campaign on March 31 at 4:10 p.m. ET at Tropicana Field.
Price, who started slow last season and spent some time on the disabled list with a triceps strain for over a month, went 10-8 with a 3.33 ERA.
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Price, 28, started Opening Day for the Rays in 2011 and last year, while the now-departed James Shields got the nod in 2012 when Price went 20-5 with a 2.56 ERA on his way to winning the American League Cy Young Award.
Price was constantly the subject of rumors throughout the offseason, most notably because the Rays' payroll reached a franchise-high $70 million and the team may have been looking to dump salary. In January, when the trade talks were really heating up, Price said earlier in the winter that he was hoping he can stay and help the Rays compete for a championship after the team has made the postseason four of the last six seasons.
"I feel like we have a good team, so hopefully we can make some kind of run," he told the Tampa Bay Times in January. "If we can have this team that we have right now on paper and everybody stays healthy and produces the type of seasons that we all can produce, I think we can do something special...I want to be a part of it."
Price and the Rays went 92-71 last season, and defeated the Cleveland Indians in the Wild-Card Game before falling to the eventual World Series Champion Boston Red Sox in five games in the ALDS.
Price is 71-39 through 152 games with the Rays with a 3.19 career ERA along with 876 strikeouts since starting his baseball career with them in 2008.
While the Rays may indeed look to move their ace prior to him becoming arbitration-eligible in 2015 and a free agent in 2016, for now he's escaped the trade speculation and is slated to start Opening Day in Tampa Bay.
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