Tigers left-hander David Price was dealt from the sunny skies of Tampa Bay to the cold streets of Detroit, but it doesn't mean the former AL Cy Young Award winner wants to be moved.
Price is once again the subject of trade rumors, but he said he likes being in Detroit after getting to know the atmosphere and his new teammates while he's also open to a contract extension.
"This is not somewhere that I disliked," Price said of Detroit, according to MLB.com. "I only said that it was different, and it's not different anymore. It's more normal now, knowing all the guys, knowing all the coaches, knowing everybody's name and stuff like that."
Price is entering the final season of his contract, but he said he is willing to sign an extension with the Tigers should both sides agree. The left-hander is also open to testing the market and hand-picking his new location if it came to that at season's end.
"I'm open for anything, to be honest," he said. "But once you have -- I guess I'm about a week short of six years in the big leagues right now -- to get that far along in the process, some of you does kind of want to wait it out, but then some of you feels like, 'Well, if they're open to doing something, you can't close any doors.' That's the way I feel. I enjoy it here. I enjoy the staff and the guys and the stadium, everything of that nature."
The Tigers recently lost Max Scherzer in free agency to the Washington Nationals, but they may not go through the same fate with Price as Detroit remains a top place where he wants to play.
"I've been doing this for a while. To get to that point where you can have your place to play, have your choice to pick where you want to play, this would definitely be on the list."
Price was dealt to the Tigers at the trade deadline in 2014 and started 11 games for them in the regular season, going 4-4 with a 3.59 ERA as he attempted to get used to his new home.
Price, 29, spent parts of seven seasons with Tampa Bay after being drafted by the Rays with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2007 MLB Draft.
The 2012 AL Cy Young Award winner went 15-12 in 34 starts in 2014 between the Rays and Tigers with a league-best 271 strikeouts and 3.26 ERA in 248.1 innings pitched.
The Tigers finished with a 90-72 record to clinch the AL Central for the fourth straight year in 2014, but they disappointingly were swept out of the ALDS by the Baltimore Orioles in three games.
Price pitched the decisive Game 3, yielding two runs on five hits en route to suffering the loss.
Price, a four-time All-Star, is 86-51 through 186 games (181 starts) in his career with a 3.21 ERA and 1,147 strikeouts.
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