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Blue Jays GM on adding Price: We haven't had a true No. 1 since Halladay

Steve Russell / Toronto Star / Getty

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The Toronto Blue Jays finally have their ace.

Armed with the league's best offense, Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos pulled the trigger on his second blockbuster deal in 72 hours, landing left-hander David Price from the Detroit Tigers for a trio of prospects.

"We feel we added a No. 1 starter," Anthopoulos said. "We really haven't had a true No. 1 since Roy Halladay was here."

The addition of Price comes two days after the Blue Jays landed All-Star shortstop Troy Tulowitzki. Anthopoulos admitted he had no idea he'd be able to land both impact players until the Tigers made him available late Wednesday.

"It wasn't even on the radar," Anthopoulos said of acquiring Price. "Totally came out of nowhere."

Price's numbers over the last four seasons:

Year W-L ERA IP SO WHIP
2015 9-4 2.53 146 138 1.11
2014 15-12 3.26 248.1 271 1.08
2013 10-8 3.33 186.2 151 1.10
2012 20-5 2.56 211 205 1.10

The Blue Jays' GM said that he and Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski had haggled over the third player in the deal for almost five hours, reaching an agreement at 3 a.m. Thursday morning.

Price's turn in the rotation would fall on Sunday, though Anthopoulos remained non-committal on when the five-time All-Star will make his debut.

"Haven't locked in a date for when Price will make his first start," he said. "Sunday is an open date, but it could be Monday, too."

The Blue Jays open a four-game series with the Kansas City Royals trailing in the race for the second wild card by two games.

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