Report: Red Sox, David Price agree to 7-year, $217M deal
The Boston Red Sox agreed Tuesday to a seven-year, $217-million deal with All-Star left-hander David Price, according to The Boston Globe's Pete Abraham.
Price will be the second major free-agent signing of the fall following righty Jordan Zimmermann, who on Sunday signed a five-year, $110-million deal with the Detroit Tigers.
Price's deal is pending a physical, and the Red Sox are expected to make it official at a press conference Friday.
The contract - which has an average annual value of $31 million - ties Miguel Cabrera for the largest average yearly salary in baseball history. It's also the most ever handed out to a pitcher per annum, and the deal includes an opt-out clause after the first three years. Price will be paid $30 million a year for the first three years, and will then receive annual salaries of $31 million in 2019, and $32 million from 2020 through 2022, according to USA TODAY's Bob Nightengale.
Related: Price makes Red Sox threat to unseat Blue Jays in AL East
Price - the runner-up in this year's American League Cy Young voting - was arguably the top pitcher available in free agency along with Zack Greinke and Johnny Cueto. The 30-year-old is a five-time All-Star and captured Cy Young honors as a member of the Tampa Bay Rays with a dominant 2012 campaign. Price will now join his fourth team in a span of about 16 months as he moves from one AL East club - the Toronto Blue Jays - to Boston.
PRICE'S LAST 5 YEARS
| YEAR | IP | ERA | ERA+ | WHIP | SO9 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 220.1 | 2.45 | 161 | 1.07 | 10.5 |
| 2014 | 248.1 | 3.26 | 115 | 1.07 | 9.8 |
| 2013 | 186.2 | 3.33 | 115 | 1.09 | 7.3 |
| 2012 | 211 | 2.56 | 150 | 1.10 | 8.7 |
| 2011 | 224.1 | 3.49 | 108 | 1.13 | 8.7 |
Boston has been desperately seeking an ace after trading Jon Lester to the Oakland Athletics in July of 2014. Red Sox pitchers compiled a 4.34 ERA (25th in majors) and recorded only 80 quality starts (16th) in 2015. Boston bolstered its bullpen with the addition of Craig Kimbrel earlier this fall, and now Price will headline the team's veteran rotation.
PROJECTED RED SOX ROTATION
| 2015 STATS | IP | ERA | FIP | WAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| David Price | 220.1 | 2.45 | 2.78 | 6 |
| Clay Buchholz | 113.1 | 3.26 | 2.68 | 2.7 |
| Rick Porcello | 172 | 4.92 | 4.13 | 0.6 |
| Wade Miley | 193.2 | 4.46 | 3.81 | 2.5 |
| Eduardo Rodriguez | 121.2 | 3.85 | 3.92 | 2.5 |
Price's numbers at Fenway Park are exceptional. He's 6-1 with a 1.95 ERA and 0.95 WHIP in 11 career starts at the storied ballpark. Only Babe Ruth has a lower career ERA (1.76) than Price at Fenway among pitchers to make at least 10 starts there.
Dave Dombrowski, Boston's new president of baseball operations, traded for Price in 2014 when he was calling the shots for the Tigers. He then avoided arbitration with Price the following offseason by dishing out a record one-year, $19.75-million deal to retain his services.