Toronto Blue Jays: Up to Rogers to Convince David Price to Stay
By Paul Taylor
Rogers will have a big say in persuading David Price to remain with the Toronto Blue Jays
The aura surrounding the Toronto Blue Jays right now is something special, the excitement is urinal-destroying out of control. The team is just two wins away from clinching the American League East.
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On top of this, the Blue Jays currently lead the Kansas City Royals, in the race for the best record in the AL. This would secure homefield advantage throughout the postseason, after the result of the 2015 All-Star game.
And yet, throughout it all, there is still one eye on next season. In particular, the fans and media alike have already started talking about what it will take to convince David Price to return to Toronto?
Unsurprisingly, this leaves general manger Alex Anthopoulos somewhat flabbergasted, as he recently told Steve Buffery of the Toronto Sun: “We normally talk about this stuff when we’€™re out of it and you’€™re starting to talk about next year.
“There’s no reason in my mind to talk about next year when we’re experiencing something that’€™s exciting and that hasn’™t been experienced in over 20 years across Canada.”
Anthopoulos is right of course, although the obsession with Price comes down to the human nature of sports fans. The guy has been an absolute stud, since arriving in Southern Ontario.
Sep 21, 2015; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Blue Jays left fielder Ben Revere (7) celebrates with starting pitcher David Price (14) at the end of the seventh inning in a game against the New York Yankees at Rogers Centre. The Toronto Blue Jays won 4-2. Mandatory Credit: Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports
The 30-year was already enjoying a fine individual campaign, before his trade from Detroit. He had recorded a 9-4 record in 21 starts, while registering a 2.53 ERA along with a WHIP of 1.110.
However, since coming to Toronto, Price has been even better, and he is now in the running for the Cy Young award. He has gone 9-1 in 11 starts, recorded an ERA of 2.30, and seen his WHIP improve to 1.009.
It has long been suspected that the 2007 first round draft pick would not return to Toronto next season. He is expected to test the free agent waters, and there will be no shortage of offers for him to consider.
More recently though, there has been some speculation that Price could be persuaded to continue wearing a Blue Jays jersey past this season. Certainly, it helps when you have an extremely talented roster around you, and all indications are that he is enjoying his time in Canada.
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Of course, one solution is to throw so much money at the five-time All Star, that he will find it virtually impossible to say no. This is where Rogers come in.
Everyone knows the Blue Jays have more than enough money to spare. And you imagine they will be in an even better position, as a result of the recent upturn in attendance, along with the upcoming postseason appearance.
The question is, are Rogers Communications prepared to do what it takes, to ensure the team continues to challenge for honours? Or is 2015 going to prove to be a flash-in-the pan?
You have to imagine that what they do in respect of Price will go a long way towards provide an answer. Rogers have a long-standing reputation (deserved or not) of not being willing to consistently compete with the big boys, aka the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, etc.
There is also the team policy of not offering contracts longer than five years. Certainly, it will be interesting to see how Rogers handle the Price situation.
For his part, Anthopoulos stresses that they will deal with the elephant in the room, when the time is right: “It will addressed, we’ll deal with it…We want to win going forward, we want to make it a sustainable club.
“We love David Price, we’d love to have David Price on this team going forward. Beyond that, I probably wouldn’t want to comment on any more than that.”
In fairness, there isn’t really much more the Blue Jays GM can say. Ultimately, the owners will make the final decision.
For now though, Anthopoulos wants the fans to concentrate on the present, as he told Buffery: “Right now, the focus should be on, let’s try to win the AL East and…hopefully take a shot at winning the World Series. The other stuff will take care of itself.”
That’s all we can hope for. Over to you Rogers…………