What the David Price signing means for the Yankees

BOSTON – The Boston Red Sox and ace pitcher David Price have agreed to a deal worth $217 million over seven years, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press.

The deal is worth $217 million over seven years and Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal adds there is a three-year opt-out. The deal makes David Price the highest paid pitcher ever, surpassing Clayton Kershaw’s $215 million deal with the Dodgers a year ago. A multiple All-Star and a Cy Young victor with the Tampa Bay Rays who time spent part of this season with Toronto, he knows how to pitch against the toughest competition and is consistently great, sporting s 3.09 lifetime ERA in over 1400 innings thrown.

After the Red Sox were openly saying they didn’t want to spend over a set amount of money following the Sandoval, Hanley, and Porcello signings in 2014, Dombrowski just shelled out and extra $30-32 million a year over the next seven seasons. The starting rotation of the Red Sox is an easy punching bag for pundits, but the staff performed admirably after a horrid start to the season. The presence of Price on the market, alongside others such as Zack Greinke and Johnny Cueto, made a long-term deal for a starter likely.

By and large, this is as big of a slam dunk as it gets for Major League Baseball free agency and a team filling an obvious hole.

Sure, Price finished second in the American League Cy Young voting and his presence helped the Toronto Blue Jays win the American League East over the Yankees, but the Yankees again, were sticking to their guns on not pursuing older players and giving them long-term money.

That night at a thunderous Tropicana Field, Price overpowered the Red Sox, striking out J.D. Drew to end the eighth, then Mark Kotsay and Jason Varitek in the ninth before inducing the pennant-clinching groundout.

That philosophy could be tested shortly, especially with a pitching market expected to move quickly after Jordan Zimmermann signed a five-year, $110 million contract with the Tigers and Price’s agreement. Johnson saved nine games for the Braves before he was dealt to the Dodgers at the trade deadline. Twelve different pitchers started at least one game for the Red Sox in 2015.

It would have been fantasy fun to see David Price on an National League roster, up against flailing pitchers and regular bunting.

Price’s contract dwarfs the six-year, $155 million contract the Cubs gave Lester last winter.

That led to Lester getting traded to the Oakland A’s at the July 31 deadline, and an offer to return capped at roughly $135 million last December, the Red Sox clinging to philosophical ideas and warning against the history of 30-something pitchers. Acquiring Miley cost the Boston Red Sox Allen Webster and Rubby De La Rosa previous year.