Throwback Thursday: Blue Jays acquire David Price from Tigers

Starting on Thursday evening, the Toronto Blue Jays begin a crucial four-game series against the Detroit Tigers, the leaders of the American League Central. These are games that the Jays need to win, as the top two teams in the American League get a bye to the American League Divisional series.

In this edition of Throwback Thursday, we’ll take a look at the Price trade, as well as what they gave up in the trade. If you missed last week’s article, we looked at the trade the Jays have made with the Giants.

What David Price brought to the Jays

By 2015, Price was a bona fide ace, being selected first overall in the 2007 draft. He started his career with the Tampa Bay Rays, where he had a 3.18 ERA and 3.33 FIP in 1,143.2 innings pitched in seven seasons with the organization, winning a Cy Young in 2012.

A year before the trade to the Blue Jays, the Rays sent him to the Detroit Tigers for a package that included Willy Adames. Price had a solid end to his 2014 season, finishing with a 3.59 ERA and 2.44 FIP in 77.2 innings pitched.

With the Tigers in 2015, Price had a 2.53 ERA and 3.06 FIP in 146 innings pitched, with a 23.3 K% and 4.9 BB%. This trade signified that the Blue Jays were going for it, and the feeling around this team is one I’ve never experienced in any other spot. There’s a similar feeling this season as well.

Post-trade, Price pitched in 11 games, finishing with a 2.30 ERA and 2.22 FIP in 74.1 innings pitched to help the Blue Jays win the division. His first start on August 3 saw him pitch eight innings with one earned run allowed while striking out 11, his best start in a Blue Jays uniform.

Unfortunately, Price didn’t have a great postseason, as he finished with a 6.17 ERA and 4.03 FIP in 23.1 innings pitched, as the Jays fell in six games to the Kansas City Royals in the American League Championship Series.

A pending free agent, Price signed a seven-year deal worth $217 million with the Boston Red Sox. In 2018, he won a World Series title with the Red Sox before being traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers along with Mookie Betts.

Although the Dodgers won the 2020 World Series, Price sat that season out because of the global pandemic. He returned in 2021, with the 2022 season being his final in the big leagues.

What the Blue Jays gave up

At the time, this was a fairly big package, especially for a rental. Daniel Norris was ranked as a top 100 prospect and was the Blue Jays’ best prospect. Boyd was another young pitcher who had big league experience and was formerly a highly rated prospect in the Jays’ organization. As for Jairo Labourt, he only pitched six big league innings.

Norris finished his playing career with a 4.73 ERA and 4.57 FIP in 582.1 innings pitched, with a 21.5 K% and 8.9 BB%. He pitched mainly for the Tigers, but also pitched for the Jays, Milwaukee Brewers, Chicago Cubs, and Cleveland Guardians.

Of the four pitchers involved in this trade, Matthew Boyd is the only active one. This season with the Cubs, Boyd has a 2.34 ERA and 3.18 FIP in 111.2 innings pitched, with a 23.2 K% and 5.2 BB%. It’s been a bit of a career resurgence for the left-handed pitcher, as he has a 2.44 ERA and 3.21 FIP in 151.1 innings pitched since the start of 2024. Boyd also became a first-time All-Star in 2025.

The old saying goes, “Flags fly forever”, and although the Blue Jays didn’t win the World Series in 2015, this was a trade that they needed at the time. Hopefully, another massive trade like this happens in 2025.