The Boston Red Sox made good on the reports suggesting that they were planning to blow all other bidders for David Price out of the water.
The Boston Globe reports that the Sox have signed the southpaw pitcher to a 7-year, $217 million deal. The contract is the largest in total money for any pitcher ever, besting Clayton Kershaw’s extension with the Dodgers by two million and Max Scherzer’s free agent deal with the Nationals by seven million.
Price went 18-5 with a 2.45 ERA in 220.1 innings last season split with the Tigers and Blue Jays. He was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2007 draft and has made five All-Star teams. Price, the 2012 AL Cy Young Award winner, boasts a career 3.09 ERA, pitching mostly in the AL East. Given his experience in the AL East with Tampa Bay and Toronto, Price should be a natural fit in Boston.
The contract also calls for a three-year opt out and has an average annual value of $31 million.
As good as Price is, he is 30 years old now and the contract will pay him through his age 36 season. His performance may be declining by then, so those last few seasons at $31 million may be tough for the Sox to endure. But for now, they have themselves an ace.
