First, Jordan Zimmermann goes to the Detroit Tigers and signs a 5 year $110 million and now the prize catch of the offseason, David Price, is set to sign swith the Boston Red Sox for a reported 7 year $217 million dollar deal.
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Price played a big role in propelling the Blue Jays to their first playoff berth since 1993.
Price is arguably the most accomplished pitcher to hit the free-agent market in the last seven years, since CC Sabathia signed with the Yankees following the 2008 season.
Price is often reckoned as one of the most feared pitchers on the baseball field with a career record of 104-56 with 3.09 ERA.
The Boston Red Sox were definitely in a “Giving Tuesday” mood on Tuesday as a major announcement was made. The Red Sox offense should take a step forward, as well. Price is coming off of a season in which he led the league with a 2.45 ERA and finished as the runner-up in the Cy Young award race.
The Price contract won’t be as bad as the contracts handed out last season. Acquiring a pitcher like Price became paramount to reverse that trend. He will improve the team’s chances to win the World Series next year. They got Kimbrel and Price, I guess they got exhausted of watching other teams win.
When the Red Sox attempted to trade for Rodriguez in 2003, they insisted they wouldn’t re-sign him if he opted out of his contract.
Dombrowski, wanting to make sure that he would land one of the two pitchers, then went to Price’s agent, Bo McKinnis, early Tuesday with an increased offer and said the Red Sox needed a decision from Price by Tuesday night.
According to a report in yesterday’s USA Today, the Red Sox will have to write a check to the commissioner’s office for $1.87 million, their tax for exceeding the $189 million payroll threshold based on their payroll figures at the end of the 2015 season. Last season, the Boston starters’ 4.39 ERA was 13th among 15 AL rotations.
Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher David Price throws a pitch against the Kansas City Royals in the first inning in game six of the ALCS at Kauffman Stadium.
Dave Dombrowski, current president of baseball operations for the Red Sox, was general manager of the Tigers when they dealt Price for three prospects last season.
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The southpaw is now added to a rotation that includes veteran Clay Buchholz and Rick Porcello, the latter of which struggled mightily in 2015 after putting up consistently very good numbers as a member of the Detroit Tigers.
