Tampa Bay Rays ace David Price is going to command the type of salary that very few teams can afford if he hits the free agent market in a few years. Naturally, one of those teams are the New York Yankees.
However, Price recently said that he would never sign a long-term contract with the Yankees because their organization has rules that are too old school — like its facial hair policy.
“I wouldn’t stay there very long then,” he told John Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. “I wouldn’t sign a long-term deal there. Those rules, that’s old-school baseball. I was born in ’85. That’s not for me. That’s not something I want to be a part of.”
Since it’s extremely rare to hear a player say he would never play for a franchise like the Yankees, Price’s comments created a ton of buzz throughout the sports world. On Thursday, the left-hander softened his stance a bit.
“It probably wasn’t the best thing to say, but I didn’t mean anything by it,” Price told reporters, via CBS New York. “I wasn’t looking to offend the Yankees. It’s probably the best organization in all of sports. Not just baseball, but all of sports. I didn’t mean anything (against) the New York Yankees. I’ve had friends on that team for multiple years.”
Price isn’t set to become a free agent until 2016, but don’t think for a second his agent Bo McKinnis didn’t give him a lecture about how dumb it is to eliminate the team with the deepest pockets in the league as a potential suitor.
“I can’t rule out anybody because, obviously, what they do for the game of baseball is just tremendous,” Price continued. “I was talking about Joe (Maddon). I was talking about the way we do everything over here, how he lets us be comfortable in our own skin. And that’s what I was referring to.”
In the event that Price does hit free agency rather than signing an extension with the Rays or any other team he might be traded to, the Yankees would be a valuable commodity. Even if he was telling the truth and would never consider playing in New York, you never want to discourage potential bidders.
H/T Hardball Talk
