The Boston Red Sox made their seven-year, $217 million commitment to starting pitcher David Price official Friday with a press conference at Fenway Park, and the southpaw had plenty of positive things to say about joining the franchise after closing out the 2015 season with the Toronto Blue Jays.
“I’m thrilled,” Price said, according to MLB.com’s Cash Kruth. “I’m ready to be a Red Sox and I’m ready to help this team and this city win.”
Fox Sports MLB provided a snapshot of Price donning his new uniform for the first time:
Speaking with the media, Price reiterated his desire to emerge as the centerpiece of Boston’s rotation, according to MLB.com’s Ian Browne:
Price was shipped to the Blue Jays by the Detroit Tigers in advance of the 2015 trade deadline, and his production north of the border was well worth the price Toronto paid for the half-season rental.
During his brief stint with the Blue Jays, Price went 9-1 with a 2.30 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, 87 strikeouts and just 18 walks. However, Price’s effectiveness waned in the playoffs.
After the Blue Jays captured their first American League East title since 1993, Price went 1-2 in four postseason appearances. His lone win came in Game 4 of the ALDS, when he came on in relief of R.A. Dickey to help keep Toronto’s hopes alive and push the series to a fifth and final game. However, all three of his playoff starts resulted in losses.
Now 2-7 in career playoff appearances, Price joked with reporters that he’s been playing the long game when it comes to posting tallies in the win column, per Fox Sports MLB:
“When you can bring one of the best pitchers in baseball, a true No. 1, it makes you better in so many ways,” Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said, per Kruth. “Not just on the field, but off the field, in the clubhouse. What David brings to us is a plus in so many ways.”
The Tigers, Blue Jays and Tampa Bay Rays all leaned on Price to produce in big spots, so rising to the challenge in a high-profile market like Boston may not faze him.
“It’s not as if Price has never pitched in high-pressure environments,” Bleacher Report’s Zachary D. Rymer wrote. “He’s played almost exclusively on winning teams throughout his career, getting quite a bit of postseason experience as a result. Also, his many years as an AL East pitcher granted him plenty of exposure in New York and, of course, Boston.”
A positive first step for Price will be leading Boston back to the postseason. The Red Sox have recorded back-to-back last-place finishes in the AL East, and they have occupied the cellar for three of the last four seasons.
The lone exception came during the team’s 2013 championship run, but that season was evidently an abnormality. Boston has missed the playoffs in five of six seasons since the start of the decade, and it needs Price to twirl some magic in hopes of bucking that trend and kicking off a new era of prosperity at Fenway Park.
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