The Tampa Bay Rays' scoreless streak hit 28 innings last night, leading many to hope Rays manager Joe Maddon didn't pay the Seminole medicine man who was "turned loose" on Tropicana Field for his services. After dropping 12 of their last 13 games heading into Monday, Maddon was seeking all manner of alternative methods to reverse this disastrous campaign.
David Price, David Ortiz in war of words and beanballs
"I guess this guy made it rain in Tampa in the mid-80s at some point, so I guess he's got some supernatural powers," Maddon said. "If it rains in the Trop I'll be really impressed. That will be his best moment ever."
He was out of luck though, and a fire sale could be in the offing. After a third consecutive shutout loss dropped the Rays to 24-42, 15 games behind the first-place Toronto Blue Jays, the future is probably now.
Fantasy baseball: David Price, Justin Verlander slumps for real?
Ace pitcher David Price would be the shiniest item at the sale, and Tampa Bay might be able to get better value for him than they could a few starts ago. Price's strikeout to walk ratio is the best it's ever been in his entire career, which includes a Cy Young season, but his ERA was uncharacteristically high for a while with an exaggerated home run rate.
Price has a 2.42 ERA over his last three starts with 27 strikeouts against just two walks. He's also given up just one home run over 22.1 innings in that stretch. This offseason he was signed to a one-year, $14 million deal, so he'd be a pricy rental should a contender decide to bite, but he's already proving his early inflated ERA was an anomaly. Advanced metrics still favor the lefty flame thrower, pegging his FIP at a much more Price-like 2.96.
Price goes eight innings, K's 10 in loss [VIDEO]
In addition to Price, there are several other useful veterans dotting this roster including first baseman James Loney, Swiss Army knife Ben Zobrist, and deposed closer Grant Balfour.
© Copyright 2024 Sports World News, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
