The Boston Red Sox acquired Craig Kimbrel in a trade with the San Diego Padres a little over a week ago and now rumors suggest the team is ready to make a big splash in free agency, which comes as no surprise.
President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski is reportedly looking to reunite with one of his former players when he was with the Detroit Tigers.
"David Price is going to break the bank," Sports Illustrated's Tom Verducci said on High Heat with Chris Russo on the MLB Network. "There's no doubt about it. I think his landing spot is going to be Boston."
"The (Red Sox) are completely all-in. They brought in Dombrowski, not to have some five-year plan but to win the World Series. They made a bit of an overpay to get Craig Kimbrel...Dombrowski wants to turn this thing around in three months so it wouldn't surprise me to see Boston be one of the most aggressive teams."
Boston needs a top-of-the-rotation starter and Price is the biggest name out there. He's expected to land a contract in the $200 million range, but it's believed Dombrowski is going to try and move other onerous contracts (Hanley Ramirez, Pablo Sandoval) to clear some space on the payroll since they already have $153 million committed to 2016 and $120 million committed to 2017 (not counting arbitration settlements and contract options).
However, first and foremost, Dombrowski is focused on free agency. To back up Verducci's statement, here's what the longtime baseball executive said on Sunday.
"There are a lot of quality starting pitchers out there, and I'm sure some organizations like some better than others, but I would think you'd feel comfortable to say any of them are under consideration for us," he told MLB Network Radio yesterday. "Right now, the market, as flush as it is with free agents, that's an area we would pursue more. But I think you'd feel comfortable that any names out there we'd have interest in and hopefully someone will have interest in us."
The starting rotation is full right now with Clay Buchholz, Rick Porcello, Wade Miley, Eduardo Rodriguez and Joe Kelly, but it's also expected Dombrowski moves one or more of them, specifically Buchholz and/or Miley, since the both of them hold some trade value as they're under contract at a decent price. Either that, or Kelly could be moved to the bullpen to make room for a high-profile starter in the event they sign one. Right now it's all speculation, but based on the way the Red Sox played in the second half of the 2015 season, it appears as if another big move to bolster the starting rotation will put them in an excellent position heading into 2016.
And Boston has all the resources to make such a move.
"The Red Sox will operate in a fascinating environment," writes Alex Speier of the Boston Globe. "They'll be connected to every available pitcher, given that president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski a) has made no secret of the fact that he'd like a front-of-the-rotation starter; b) has made clear he understands the pricing implications of such a statement; c) is in charge of an organization with a lot of spending power; and d) possesses a deep pool of highly regarded prospects."
Although Price said earlier this year that he isn't going anywhere because of a general manager or front office executive, he'll certainly go somewhere if that team is willing to pay and if it has a chance to win a World Series in the foreseeable future.
The Red Sox are one of those destinations.
