David Price will earn a record arbitration salary of $19.75 million in 2015 before hitting the free agent market once the season ends. What will it take for the Detroit Tigers to sign him to an extension?
According to FOX Sports' Jon Morosi, it's going to take a lot. Earlier on Wednesday, Morosi tweeted, "I do not expect we will see an extension for any elite free-agent-to-be pitcher, unless the Tigers offer David Price a Kershaw-type deal."
The Los Angeles Dodgers inked starter Clayton Kershaw to a seven-year, $215 million deal prior to the 2014 season, and the left-hander is set to earn at least $32 million per year through the 2020 season, unless he plans to opt out after 2018. It's unclear - for a number of reasons - if Detroit would be willing to give Price such a deal.
First off, the Tigers offered Max Scherzer a six-year, $144 million extension prior to last season, and after he rejected that the two sides never entered negotiations again. Ownership was upset that he turned down such a high offer, so it's unknown how much higher they'd be willing to go with Price. Scherzer signed a record $210 million deal for a right-hander with the Washington Nationals, and if Price has a good campaign, he should land a contract in that range as well.
However, Price will be turning 30 this year, and pitchers 30 and over who receive contracts in excess of five years have proven to be a poor return on investment. Additionally, depending how many innings the left-hander throws in 2015, the Tigers might be hesitant to rely on him to stay healthy into his latter years. Price threw a career-high 248 1/3 innings last season and has eclipsed the 200-inning mark in five of his six full MLB seasons.
Despite that, Price has only been on the disabled list once in his career, and that was back in 2013 when he had tightness in his triceps.
We do know that the Tigers want to retain Price and Price is open to staying in Detroit. The two sides began talking about "the potential of a contract extension" last week, so there does remain a possibility.
If Price does remain with Detroit, he'll undoubtedly be their No. 1 starter for the next few years. If he hits the free agent market, he could become one of the highest-paid pitchers of all time.
