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KANSAS CITY, MO - OCTOBER 23: David Price #14 of the Toronto Blue Jays reacts on the mound in the seventh inning while taking on the Kansas City Royals in game six of the 2015 MLB American League Championship Series at Kauffman Stadium on October 23, 2015 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
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·2 min read

Red Sox sign David Price to largest pitcher contract in history

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Today, the Red Sox signed David Price to the largest contract for a pitcher in MLB history.

So here are the nuts and bolts: Price is getting $31M per year, which ties Miguel Cabrera for highest AAV over that length of time. Its the highest contract by total money for any pitcher, beating out Kershaw by $2M. Price has an opt-out after three years, the same as CC had with the Yankees. If you remember, CC had three great seasons from 2009-11 and then opted-out and got an extra year added on to the back end of his deal. In hindsight, that was a mistake by the Yankees. They would have been better off letting CC walk and thanked their lucky stars that they got three prime years from him. Time will tell what the Red Sox will do but if they play it right, it could work out well. But you do have to question the Red Sox organizational philosophy. Last year they would not extend themselves to sign Jon Lester, a homegrown Red Sox, but this year give Price the most money in baseball history.

Listen, I can’t spin this to say this does not make the Red Sox a much, much better team next year. You saw what Price did for Toronto, and he can do that for Boston. But it’s hard to ignore that Price is entering the back 9 of his career and the AL East usually eats up those pitchers. His postseason record is also terrible, he has not won a start in 8 tries and has a 5.12 ERA to go along with it. Oh, and then there’s this:  

You can’t help but question his mental makeup and ability to handle pressure. Boston is not Tampa, Detroit, or Toronto. Much like New York, Boston can eat up players who are not mentally strong. We saw it with Carl Crawford, Adrian Gonzalez, John Lackey, and others. I wonder if we will see it with Price. One thing is for sure, the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry just kicked up a notch and I, for one, am excited about that.