David Price, one of the biggest free agents on the market, has reportedly agreed to a 7 year deal with the Boston Red Sox worth $217 million.
Price, 30, was the #1 overall pick in the 2007 draft by the Tampa Bay Rays. Price joined the Rays rotation in 2009, and established himself as one of the top pitchers in the game over the last six years. The lefthander was dealt to Detroit at the trade deadline in 2014, and then was sent by the Tigers to the Toronto Blue Jays in July, 2015.
Price was expected to command a long-term deal with an annual value of at least $30 million per year. This $31 million per year deal is one of the biggest in MLB history.
The departure of Price and Jordan Zimmermann, who signed with the Tigers yesterday, from the market leaves Zack Greinke and Johnny Cueto as the top free agent pitchers remaining.
UPDATE -- Per Ken Rosenthal, Price has an opt-out after Year 3 of his deal. How this impacts the overall deal will depend on the extent to which this deal is backloaded...the more backloaded it is, the less likely it is that Price opts out.