It’s been almost 365 days since the Tampa Bay Rays sat down with Evan Longoria and his lawyer and made him the official face of the franchise, signing him to a $100 million extension through the end of the 2022 season with a $13 million option for 2023.

For a team that doesn’t have a free-flowing payroll as their American League Eastern Division rivals, they’ve spoken loud enough with their actions that their primary focus is to keep their three-time All-Star and up-and-coming prospects. Unfortunately for the city of Tampa and their fans, this leaves 2012 AL Cy Young winner David Price on the outside of the bubble as the powers that be scramble to adjust their lineup for the start of Spring Training in February.

Price has had an amazing run with the Rays. In six seasons (five full) at the Major League level Price has accomplished more in a such a sort time frame than most left-handed starters could hope to accomplish in their lifetime: a 71-39 record, a 3.19 ERA, 876 strikeouts, three All-Star Game appearances, a World Series appearance in 2008 and of course, the Cy Young.

Price’s resume served him up a hefty arbitration settlement which netted him over $10 million in 2013 and a second turn at the table is in the not too distant future which will cost the Rays dearly as Price’s contract goes through the end of the 2016 season. As much as the Rays would like to hang onto their star on the rise, frugal management has shown in the past that no player is too valuable to let go, as was the case with Matt Garza when they traded him to the Chicago Cubs for Sam Fuld and Chris Archer as well as when they dealt their golden boy James Shields and Wade Davis to the Kansas City Royals for AL Rookie of the Year Wil Myers, Patrick Leonard, Jake Odorizzi and Mike Montgomery.

What’s really crazy about the Rays dealing away their top pitchers is that they’ve benefited greatly in every case. As it stands now, the Rays still have Jeremy Hellickson, Matt Moore, Alex Cobb and Archer which could evolve into one of the most dominant starting rotations in MLB history.

On the field, the Rays are set at every position with the exception of first base. As for the bullpen, it needs a lot of work, especially with 36-year-old Fernando Rodney filing for free agency. With all of these variables on the table it would be in the best interest of the Rays to deal Price to a team that can supply them with a new, reliable closer, a few middle relief arms and a .300 or better-hitting first baseman. Realistically the one team that could afford to let a few of these players go is the Los Angeles Angels.

2013 proved that the Angels can stockpile as many power-hitting bats as possible, but if you don’t have any kind of a starting pitching rotation you’ll be dead in the water.

With the value that Price has amassed over the last three seasons it would be within the best interests of the Angels to throw someone like Mark Trumbo on the table along with Ernesto Frieri if the Angles would rather roll the dice in the free agent market with a new closer like Grant Balfour or even the resurgent Brian Wilson. Rays General Manager Andrew Friedman isn’t the kind of guy who will pull the trigger on the first deal he sees. With that, expect the Texas Rangers, Seattle Mariners, Boston Red Sox and even the Toronto Blue Jays to be in the mix as well.

Price hasn’t fared incredibly well against the National League in his career with the exception of the Western Division, 1-0 with a 1.17 ERA and 20 strikeouts in three games, minus the Colorado Rockies (0-2 with a 5.93 ERA). The Rockies are realistically the only feasible NL option for Price as Troy Tulowitzki’s contract finally kicks in this next season starting at $16 million, Carlos Gonzalez’s contract won’t go above $10.5 million until 2015 and Michael Cuddyer will be in the final year of his contract this next season.

With Jorge De La Rosa off the books at the close of this last season, the Rockies are in need on reliable, veteran starting pitchers. The only thing that may halt this as an option is the fear of a repeat Mike Hampton deal. With that in mind, expect Price to stay within the AL.