Red Sox agree Price deal

Price’s deal won’t become official until he passes a physical in the next day or two, though a press conference is tentatively set for Friday at Fenway Park.

Pitcher David Price signed a seven-year, $217 million contract with the Red Sox on Tuesday. The Rays traded him to the Detroit Tigers at the 2014 trade deadline in preparation of this payday. A left-hander who spent most of his career with Tampa Bay and finished last season with Toronto, Price is one of baseball’s elite pitchers.

The Red Sox got a good deal. Boston needed an ace, and they needed one now: given an ultimatum by Zack Grienke, who they were also negotiating with, the Red Sox blew Price away with an offer that was reportedly worth at least million more than what the Cardinals, Price’s second-place suitor, were offering. And you have seen and heard and read smart work from smart people suggesting that huge free-agent contracts for pitchers rarely work out and that the Red Sox will come to regret committing so much money to the 2015 AL Cy Young runner-up.

Samardzija and Chen aren’t going to be near the top of that market, but they likely are in the $70 million-to-$90 million range, and that might be too rich for the Yankees. Would Price’s struggles in October follow him to Chicago? Or, less metaphorically, it’s better than giving Rick Porcello $100 million because he might be worth $140 million in a year or so, or better than paying Justin Masterson $10 million because he might turn out not to be a smoking husk of a pitcher.

Obviously, Price got a boost last season when he moved to the Blue Jays. I’ve written that when the Red Sox fail, the organization will move in a new direction – usually throwing someone under the bus.

The Detroit executive who traded for him in 2014, Dave Dombrowksi, is now in charge of baseball operations in Boston.

Andrew Miller wasn’t surprised to hear about Price’s deal. The Royals proved the value in a dominant bullpen, essentially turning nine inning games into seven inning games by boasting a stable of incredibly productive bullpen arms. Benintendi hit. 313 with 11 home runs, seven doubles and four triples in a span of 54 games between both low single-A and single A. In 63.1 postseason innings, Price has been battered for a 5.12 ERA, and he holds a 2-7 record.

Henry had always been opposed to give pitchers over 30 years old long-term deals, which is completely understandable considering how majority of big contracts to pitchers seem to have backfired. “Now he is my partner”, Ortiz explained to 102.5 FM in Santo Domingo.

The ace is also the one that you want on the mound in Game 1 of a playoff series, which is what has caused some to hesitate when it comes to Price.

And Red Sox fans shouldn’t be too anxious about that player opt-out. He would not come without risk, but if the Red Sox are willing to take on some of the money owed their former top prospect, he could fetch a decent trade return.