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DETROIT -- When David Price was finally traded, it was to an unexpected bidder. The Detroit Tigers added another Cy Young Award winner to their star-studded rotation, acquiring Price from Tampa Bay in a blockbuster deal Thursday. The Rays received left-hander Drew Smyly and minor league infielder Willy Adames from the Tigers. Tampa Bay also got infielder Nick Franklin from Seattle, with Detroit outfielder Austin Jackson going to the Mariners. The AL Central-leading Tigers are trying for their fourth consecutive division title, and their starting rotation was already a strength. General manager Dave Dombrowski decided to trade for Price anyway, giving Detroit a collection of stars on the mound that could be tough to match in any post-season series. "The question that we asked ourselves is: What gives us the best chance of winning the world championship this year?" Dombrowski said. "We thought adding him to our rotation at this point would give us the best chance to do that." The deal came just hours after the Oakland Athletics got an ace of their own, Jon Lester from the Boston Red Sox Price joins Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander in the Detroit rotation, giving the Tigers the last three American League Cy Young winners. The Tigers are the first team with three pitchers on the staff who have all won Cy Young Awards over the previous three seasons, according to STATS. "Today its great, its nice, its fine. I love to have David Price," Dombrowski said. "If we win, then Ill be very satisfied." Jackson was removed from Detroits game against the Chicago White Sox with one out in the top of the seventh inning. As he jogged in from centre field, he got a nice hand from the home fans, many of whom no doubt understood the significance of the substitution moments before the trade deadline. Prices departure became a clear possibility when the Rays fell way behind in the AL East race earlier this season. Tampa Bay has played much better over the last month and entered Thursday only 5 1/2 games behind a wild card -- but the Rays decided to deal their ace anyway. "Compared to the other possibilities, it was by far the most prudent thing that we could do for the best interests of the franchise," said Andrew Friedman, Tampa Bays vice-president of baseball operations. "If you look ahead to next year, it would have been really challenging to be as good as we want to be within our situation, with David taking up that meaningful of a percentage of our payroll. So everything we do is in the vein of how to be competitive in the near term and also the long term." Tweeted Rays manager Joe Maddon: "No fun losing a David Price. Hate it. But we have to do what is best for our group. Continue to move it forward and thats what weve done." Tampa Bay signed Price to a $14 million deal for this season, avoiding arbitration, but he isnt eligible for free agency until after next season. That means Detroits rotation -- which also includes Anibal Sanchez and Rick Porcello -- should be impressive in 2015 even if Scherzer leaves via free agency this off-season. "Were trying to win this year, but we do have David Price for next year," Dombrowski said. "Thats helpful." The Tigers are without a World Series championship since 1984. Last seasons team lost to Boston in the AL championship series. Detroit had to give up quite a bit to get Price. Smyly actually started Thursdays game and pitched five innings. The 25-year-old left-hander is 6-9 with a 3.93 ERA this season. Smyly said he found out about the trade on social media, and Dombrowski came in and told him soon thereafter. "Didnt see it coming," he said. "These guys are awesome. We have a great team, a winning team. So its hard to say goodbye, but its part of baseball. Happens to everybody." Jackson is hitting .273 and has been Detroits regular centre fielder throughout this run of division titles. The 23-year-old Franklin hit .294 in 75 games this season with Triple-A Tacoma. He appeared in 17 games with the Mariners, hitting .128. "Its not waving a white flag at all," Rays president Matt Silverman said. "If your team plays to the level that it can, especially considering all the head-to-head games we have within our division, we have a chance to make up the deficit and get into the playoffs. Its more difficult without David, but if the rest of the team plays up to their potential, were going to be playing meaningful games in September." With a lineup anchored by Miguel Cabrera, Victor Martinez and Ian Kinsler -- and that remarkable rotation -- Detroit has remained in first place for almost all of 2014. The Tigers tried to shore up one trouble spot -- the bullpen -- by trading for Joakim Soria last week. Now Detroit has emerged with Price in another bold move aimed at bringing a championship to the Motor City. "I dont know if were going to win by any means -- theres other good clubs," Dombrowski said. "But getting the opportunity to add a guy like David Price doesnt come along very often." Jeremy Roenick Jersey . The two-time former Formula One champion downplayed his third-place finish three weeks ago in China and said progress is going slow for Ferrari as it tries to make up ground on Mercedes. Clark Griswold Jersey . With a victory seemingly slipping away late in the third quarter, his quick scoring flurry helped Golden State regain control early in the fourth. http://www.officialblackhawksauthority.c...ks-jersey-c-31/. Jeff Carter had two goals and an assist as the Kings stretched their streak to seven wins in a row with a 4-2 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Sunday. Bobby Hull Jersey . On Thursday theyll learn even more. Despite the cloud of uncertainty that has followed them around from the moment general manager Masai Ujiri was brought in to put his stamp on the franchise, the Raptors have surpassed all pre-season expectations. Brandon Saad Jersey . - Buffalo Bills running back C.MILWAUKEE -- The Bucks have signed free-agent forward Tony Mitchell, a former rookie of the year in the NBA Developmental League. General manager John Hammond said Tuesday that Mitchell was signed to a 10-day contract. Mitchell spent much of the last two seasons with Milwaukees D-League affiliate in Fort Wayne. The Bucks could use another scorer at small forward after buying out the contract of veteeran Caron Butler.dddddddddddd The 6-foot-6 Mitchell was averaging 19.4 points and 5.2 rebounds after returning to Fort Wayne in January. He played in China in the fall. Mitchell averaged 21.9 points and 6.4 rebounds at Fort Wayne in 2012-13, when he won top rookie honours. Hes also a two-time champion of the D-League slam dunk contest. Mitchell went undrafted out of Alabama in 2012. ' ' '