Red Sox, David Price Agree To 7 Year, $217 Million Deal
BOSTON (CBS) -- The Boston Red Sox have found their ace.
WBZ-TV's Dan Roche has confirmed the team has reached an agreement with free agent pitcher David Price on a seven-year, $217-million deal, as first reported by Peter Abraham of The Boston Globe.
It's the richest deal ever given to a pitcher in MLB history.
Price will fit in nicely at the front of Boston's rotation, a void that plagued the team during the 2015 season. He is coming off an impressive 2015 campaign where he went 18-5 with an AL-leading 2.45 ERA in 32 starts for the Detroit Tigers and Toronto Blue Jays. After being traded to Toronto at the trade deadline, the lefty ace went 9-1 with a 2.30 ERA and 1.009 WHIP in 11 starts down the stretch the help the Jays win the AL East.
If there's been one knock on the fireball pitcher throughout his career, it's his postseason numbers. Price is just 2-7 with a 5.12 ERA in 14 games (eight starts), with six of those losses coming in the divisional round. He went 1-2 for Toronto during their run to the ALCS last season, posting a 6.17 ERA in three starts and one relief appearance.
While Boston fans will remember Price giving up seven earned runs to the Red Sox in seven innings of work in the 2013 ALDS, he does have a very good career record at Fenway Park. In 11 regular season starts in Boston, Price touts a 6-1 record with a 1.95 ERA, allowing just 16 earned runs in 74 innings pitched. He also has plenty of experience pitching in the AL East, with a 13-7 career record against the New York Yankees -- his new chief rival.
A five-time All-Star, Price is 104-56 with a 3.09 ERA and 1.132 WHIP over his eight-year career. The first overall pick in the 2007 amateur draft by the Tampa Bay Rays, Price was the American League Cy Young winner in 2012 when he went 20-5 with a 2.56 ERA for Tampa.
