Skip to content

Report: Red Sox will generate highest offer to David Price

Dan Hamilton / USA TODAY Sports

If money talks, the Boston Red Sox will be the front-runners in the David Price sweepstakes.

There's a "high expectation" among major league executives involved in the bidding for Price that the Red Sox will produce the highest contract offer, according to ESPN's Buster Olney.

Olney's report comes just hours after Boston manager John Farrell declared the Red Sox as serious suitors to sign an ace this offseason.

Related: Farrell: Adding Greinke, Price like having 2 turkeys at Thanksgiving

"We've got an identified need, we have the resources that John (Henry), Tom (Werner), Mike Gordon, and others have committed and made available, and Dave (Dombrowski)'s got a history of being able to secure pitchers of this kind of elite status," Farrell said Tuesday.

Price, who finished second in American League Cy Young voting last season, is projected to command a seven-year, $191-million deal on the free-agent market, according to FanGraphs.

Dombrowski, Boston's new president of baseball operations, traded for Price in 2014 when he was calling the shots for the Detroit Tigers. He also had no issues signing Price to a one-year, $19.75-million deal in the winter of 2015, setting a record for the largest one-year pact for an arbitration-eligible player prior to free agency.

The Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago Cubs - two other clubs with deep pockets - are also expected to make serious runs at Price this fall. The Toronto Blue Jays could be dark horses to retain the southpaw's services.

Price, 30, compiled an 18-5 record with a 2.45 ERA while striking out 225 batters over 32 starts with the Tigers and Blue Jays last season.

Daily Newsletter

Get the latest trending sports news daily in your inbox