Boston Red Sox Reportedly Sign David Price in $217 Million Deal

And if the Sox actually have the guts to walk away from Price instead of doubling down and signing him to an extension, Henry will be able to sleep at night knowing he paid less than $100 million for three productive seasons of one of the best pitchers in the American League.

There is no way to know that until the season plays it’s way out, and in the meantime you know that the Blue Jays don’t have a ticking time bomb of a contract ready to blow up whatever plans they may have for the future beyond 2016. This is not a bad lot in life. However, the Dombrowski-led team invested that entire amount to one player. He joins a rotation that yielded a 4.39 ERA last season, the third highest in the AL.

For what it’s worth, new Red Sox senior vice president of baseball operations Frank Wren denied the back-and-forth reports on air with WEEI.

Dombrowski traded a package of prospects to San Diego for closer Craig Kimbrel last month. So much for Price having reservations about playing in Boston or with Red Sox icon David Ortiz.

So Price gets $7 million more, but the contract has even more value because Scherzer deferred without interest half of his money ($105 million) and did not obtain an opt-out clause. Nightengale also added that the St. Louis Cardinals were the runner-up in the Price sweepstakes, but Boston outbid the Cardinals by “at least” $30 million. Price would be the ace not just on the Red Sox, but on virtually any team in baseball. Plenty must go right.

This is what you need to know about the Price signing: the Red Sox are paying Price his market rate while betting an enormous sum of money that he is an extreme outlier, an ace who ages well into his 30s. They could use superstar turns from Bogaerts and Betts, plus returns to form from Sandoval and Ramirez, should they both return to Boston and not find themselves out as part of Dombrowski’s master plan. The genius of Dombrowski isn’t any particular facet as much as the gravitas that allows him to operate in the fashion he desires.

Although it is not always the most competitive division, it tends to be one that is hard for pitchers because of the quality of lineups they face. He narrowed it down to the top two aces that were for sale: David Price and Zack Greinke. According to Bob Nightengale of the USA Today, ” the Chicago Cubs met with Price but never made a formal offer, according to the person directly involved in the negotiations”.

The Red Sox – on paper – are a better team than they were before Dave Dombrowski arrived. Does it indicate that the Bronx Bombers should sign a big-name free agent, or is this just another big signing that won’t pan out for the Red Sox?