I don’t think anyone seriously thought that David Price was going to opt-out of his contract and leave the Red Sox. The possibility existed, however, at least until a few minutes ago. That’s when Price told reporters assembled for the Sox’ World Series parade that he isn’t going anywhere.
Price is still owed $127 million for the next four years on the seven-year, $217 million deal he signed before the 2016 season. The remaining amount breaks down to an average of $31.75 million a season. Despite Price’s playoff performance and solid regular season play, no one was going to pay him that kind of money if he opted for free agency. And, for that matter, no one was going to give him more than $127 million over a longer term than four years at this point either.
Until recently there was a chance that Price making that kind of money in his age 33-36 seasons might’ve led to a lot of stress and heat in Boston, but now that he’s a World Series hero, I presume he’ll be cut a lot more slack by the often hostile media and fan base.