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David Price Signing: Symbolic Change for Red Sox

By DJ Smith

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Landing David Price in free agency is a sign of change for Boston Red Sox organization.

Lest not forget it was just one year ago that the Boston Red Sox were bidding on Jon Lester, one of the organization’s most successful pitchers and ultimately came up short after only offering $70 million dollars over four years. To many fans, and one particular blogger/podcaster, the move was inexcusable and at the time Ben Cherington did not have a solid Plan B.

Read from 2014: Why We Should Be Disappointed in Ben Cherington 

His Plan B was bringing in Rick Porcello, and Wade Miley hoping they could provide depth in the rotation while signing superstars like Hanley Ramirez and Pablo Sandoval to contracts that don’t represent their performance after the first year.

Last year, the Red Sox believed they didn’t need to go out and sign players to long-term deals because they felt like they had solved the mystery to win a championship. The 2013 World Series gave the Red Sox false hope for the 2014 and 2015 Red Sox, it gave ownership belief that the key to winning a World Series isn’t spending for the best players that fit your need, it was signing ‘good clubhouse guys’.

Well, after two abysmal last place seasons for the Red Sox, John Henry saw fit that his “solution” wasn’t working. The first move began with Larry Lucchino stepping down, a move that was monumental but necessary it seemed. Lucchino has had a roller coaster of a time with the Red Sox, battling with Theo Epstein throughout his tenure and bringing in people who were not equipped for the job (See: Valentein, Bobby).

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After the departure of Lucchino and General Manager Ben Cherington, the Red Sox were facing an identity crisis. Do they continue their past ways of finding B+ players and hope that a good locker room could will them to another World Series? Or do they go back to their bad habits from 2009 and 2010 and spend the big bucks on the high-priced free agents?

New General Manager Dave Dombrowski presented a third option though, spending the big bucks on high-priced free agents that fix your weak spots from the previous season. Dombrowski has addressed that earlier this offseason by adding Craig Kimbrel to the bullpen that struggled mightily in 2015. But now with the addition of Kimbrel, the workload eases up on guys like Junichi Tazawa, Matt Barnes, and Koji Uehara.

On Tuesday, Dombrowski took the next step to building the 2016 Red Sox by addressing the one glaring hole that they had, starting pitching.

David Price coming to the Red Sox is the best move that Dombrowski could of made this off season. His seven-year, $217 million contract with an opt-out after three seasons is a massive commitment that severely limits the value of Price to Boston, but this was a move that needed to be made.

There is no question that he was the best pitcher on the market, and there is no question he can pitch in the American League East. The Red Sox needed an ace in the worst way, and Price is seemingly a perfect fit. They targeted their guy, and were determined to bring him in at all costs.

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Price sports a 104-56 record in eight Major League Seasons with a 3.09 ERA, compared to Jon Lesters’ 127-79 record in ten Major League Seasons with a 3.55 ERA. Breaking it down by percentages Price has a better winning percentage with a .655 winning percentage over Lester’s .617 winning percentage.

The one knock on David Price has been his performance in the postseason. Price is tied for the most postseason losses in playoff history with seven, the other person tied for that record? Hall of Famer Randy Johnson.

Randy Johnson, for the most part is remembered for his epic performance in the 2001 World Series where he captured three World Series victories, at age 37. David Price is only 30 years old, so am I concerned about his performance in the postseason? No, get the Sox a spot at the table and I’ll take my chances with David Price on the hill.

Next: Red Sox Make Strong Move in Signing OF Chris Young

What Dave Dombrowski did on Tuesday was not only find the replacement for Jon Lester, he corrected a mistake that was done last year. Last year the Red Sox tried to be conservative and save money on starting pitching, and it bit them in the ass. Dave Dombrowski since being brought on has made it his goal to right the wrong that was done last year, and so far he is exceeding expectations.

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