David Price thinks he'll join other big-name players who were traded after the Tampa Bay Rays determined they could no longer afford them.
"If you go with what's been done in the past, I guess you're going to have to think you're going to get traded," Price told Tampa writers during a conference call Wednesday night.
Price is eligible for arbitration heading into next season and could see his salary jump from $10 million to $13 million, leading to speculation that he could be traded. Carl Crawford and James Shields are among veterans who were recently priced out of Tampa.
"It's not disappointing or anything like that," Price said. "This is a place I love to be. My teammates and everyone in the organization knows that. It's part of baseball, and it's something I've seen go on, it's kind of something I somewhat prepared myself for."
Price and the Rays were eliminated by the Boston Red Sox in four games in their AL Division Series. Price was roughed up in a Game 2 loss and was embroiled in controversy over Twitter comments critical of David Ortiz.
But his time in Tampa has been productive. In six years, the left-hander has been a three-time All-Star, won the Cy Young Award in 2012 and was second in 2010.
"It's never an inviting thought to think David is not going to be with you. But we're faced with a lot of this stuff on an annual basis," manager Joe Maddon told The Tampa Tribune. "It's part of who we are here. We understand that. We're hoping that it will turn out that he'll be able to be here, but I don't know how that is all going to play out. Players like David Price, you always want to have on your side."