UPDATE: The deal is official.
The #RedSox today signed LHP David Price to a 7-year contract through the 2022 season with an opt-out clause after the 2018 season.
— Boston Red Sox (@RedSox) December 4, 2015
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The speculation and rumors of David Price reuniting with front office executive Dave Dombrowski are all but official. Price has reportedly signed a mammoth deal with the Boston Red Sox.
Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe reported earlier this evening that Price and the Red Sox agreed to a seven-year, $217 million contract, which is the largest contract ever for a pitcher. Los Angeles Dodgers starter Clayton Kershaw previously held that mark with his $215 million deal.
Price's $31 million average annual salary also ties Detroit Tigers first baseman Miguel Cabrera for the most in MLB history.
The deal is pending a physical, according to FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal.
Bob Nightengale of USA Today Sports reported Price will earn $30 million per season in the first three years of the contract and then has an opt-out clause in the fourth year.
ESPN's Jerry Crasnick followed that up and reported Price will make $31 million in the fourth year and $32 million in each of the following three years. There is also no deferred money in the contract, unlike how the Washington Nationals structured Max Scherzer's seven-year, $210 million deal.
Dombrowski, who had long been saying the Red Sox were in need of a top starter, managed to lure the left-hander to his team again. Dombrowski acquired Price before the trade deadline in 2014 when he was general manager of the Detroit Tigers. Price spent a year in Detroit before Dombrowski traded him to the Toronto Blue Jays for a big package of prospects.
Price, 30, was the top free agent on the market this offseason. He had a career-best campaign in 2015 with the Tigers and Blue Jays in 2015 after finishing 18-5 with a 2.45 ERA, 1.08 WHIP and 225 strikeouts in 32 starts (220 1/3 innings).
Last week rumors suggested the Red Sox were ready to outbid every other MLB team by $30 million or $40 million to ensure they landed Price. Other clubs speculated to have been in the running for the left-hander include the Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles Dodgers, San Francisco Giants and St. Louis Cardinals.
Zack Greinke is now the most coveted free agent on the open market and rumors suggest he could ink a five- or six-year deal with the Dodgers or Giants by the end of the week.
Stay tuned for an official announcement on Price.
