Beeston wouldn't have broken Blue Jays' policy for Price

David Price was so hot of a commodity in free agency during the offseason that many clubs were interested in securing his services over a long term. If Paul Beeston was still holding his position as president of the Toronto Blue Jays, however, his club may not have been in the running for the southpaw.

The former executive confirmed during a Tuesday interview on Sportsnet 590 The Fan that he wouldn't have broken his maximum five-year contract policy in order to bring Price back to Toronto.

"He’s a special guy ... when you start looking at it there’s no reason to think he’s not going to perform all the way through," Beeston said. "It’s a lot longer than I would have paid him myself, because you could say I’m arguing against myself, but once you break that policy - once you break that policy, over five years or six years, take whatever your policy might be - you can go on and just pay and pay and pay.

"I wouldn't have broken the five-year rule."

Price ended up signing a seven-year contract worth $217 million with the Boston Red Sox, making him the game's highest-paid pitcher per year at the time of the deal; his mark was broken soon afterwards by Zack Greinke, who signed a six-year contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks for a higher annual value.

Under Beeston's watch, the Blue Jays had a policy in place limiting contracts to five years. The 70-year-old went on to say that he believed in the five-year limit because it's tough to project a player's productivity over a longer term.

"That's why you don't sign over five-year deals, because it's tough to perform for those five years," he explained.

The largest contract in Blue Jays history was a seven-year deal worth $126 million given to Vernon Wells after the 2006 season.

Price pitched to a 9-1 record with a 2.30 ERA and 1.01 WHIP across 11 starts for the Blue Jays last season.