Linked by Twitter post, Giants unlikely to land Price

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- Rays left-hander David Price was involved in the most startling nugget of information involving the Giants during these Winter Meetings.

ESPN's Buster Olney wrote on Twitter that the Giants "checked in" on Price, the 2012 American League Cy Young Award winner, but haven't yet opened discussions with the Rays.

Those talks might never occur, given the wealth of talent the Giants would have to relinquish to trade for Price, who has posted a 71-39 record with the Rays since they made him the No. 1 overall choice in the 2007 First-year Player Draft.

Rays management reportedly is uncertain it can afford Price, who's eligible for salary arbitration in each of the next two seasons before becoming eligible for free agency in 2016. That has generated much trade speculation involving Price, 28.

Common sense dictates that Tampa Bay would want at least one Major League-ready pitching prospect in return for Price. The Giants don't have pitchers who fit that description, even by general manager Brian Sabean's admission. Thus, to form a package of players for Price, the Giants might have to include right-hander Kyle Crick, the most promising member of their sizable stable of pitching prospects from the lower Minors.

San Francisco almost surely would have to throw in another pitcher. One possibility is left-hander Edwin Escobar, 21, whom Sabean said has been asked about in multiple trade proposals from other clubs.

The Giants likely would have to add a young but proven hitter. First baseman Brandon Belt, who has progressed steadily in each of the last two seasons, might pique Tampa Bay's interest. Switch-hitting catcher Hector Sanchez also has value.

All this has about as much of a chance of happening as Sabean purchasing a pair of Mickey Mouse ears at nearby Disney World and wearing them daily throughout next season.