Committing seven years and $217-million to someone who has never been considered the best pitcher in baseball is a risky proposition that leaves a lot of people questioning the landscape of free agency in the MLB.
David Price is far from mediocre, he’s a tremendous starter and down the stretch of the year, for the Toronto Blue Jays, he went 9-1 with a 2.30 ERA. He helped the Jays win the AL East, but left a lot to be desired in the postseason, which has always been the knock on the 30-year-old lefty.
In 14 playoff appearances, eight of which were starts, Price has gone 2-7 with a 5.12 ERA and 1.17 WHIP. For whatever reason, the southpaw hasn’t been able to carry over his regular season accolades into the brutal depths of October.
The Boston Red Sox looked lost, however, in 2015 without Jon Lester—or any ace for that matter—headlining their rotation. The Rick Porcello acquisition flopped, Clay Buchholz missed significant time due to injury and Wade Miley was slightly above average. The saving grace for Boston’s hopes lied within the potential Eduardo Rodriguez and Henry Owens flashed upon their call-ups.
But Rodriguez and Owens, although talented lefties with plus stuff, aren’t experienced enough to carry the Red Sox rotation into a pennant race. Adding a workhorse with a proven resume, albeit only in the regular season, was a necessity that needed to occur at all costs.
Price has become the highest paid pitcher in the history of the sport with this new contract, earning $2-million more than Clayton Kershaw did when he signed his deal in 2014. Price, although great in his own right, is nowhere near as dominant and immortal as Kershaw has been since entering the big leagues, but demand outweighed supply and Price is now a record-holder, for the time being.
The Red Sox needed to upgrade their rotation, primarily by adding a true ace to the mix, and they did so by overpaying the best potential option available. Boston could’ve traded for Matt Harvey or Jose Fernandez if they desired, but it would’ve cost the Red Sox the young talent that has made the franchise a tantalizing organization.
It’s difficult to rationalize the money spent on Price who potentially will be on the downside of his career for the second half of the contract, but it was a move that had to be made to jumpstart Boston’s rebuilding phase. The plus side to all of this would be Price contributing three electric seasons and opting out of his contract, allowing the Red Sox to rent his final prime years and letting someone else pick up the tab as his career peaks out.