Price to make season debut Monday vs. White Sox

Boston's $217-million arm is back.

After missing all of April and most of May rehabbing from an elbow strain, left-hander David Price is scheduled to make his highly anticipated season debut Monday against the Chicago White Sox, the Red Sox announced.

The 31-year-old completed his second rehab start Wednesday, though he did need 89 pitches to get through 3 2/3 innings. His velocity was consistent, however, topping out at 96 mph.

"(It was) a lot of pitches in a short amount of time. I think that is more of a test to being healthy as opposed to going out there and throwing five or six innings for 90 pitches," Price told Tim Britton of the Providence Journal. "To do what I did in both of my rehab outings, I don’t think you can do that if you’re not healthy."

Manager John Farrell, speaking after the team's 9-4 win against the Texas Rangers, is looking forward to having the former American League Cy Young Award winner back in the rotation.

"Physically, he feels great, and his return will give us a definite boost," Farrell said, per Britton. "Hopefully it allows us to even out some of the performances within the rotation."

"That's like making a major trade," president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said. "He's a premium starting pitcher at the major-league level that's one of the best pitchers in the league. Getting a guy back like that is huge for us."

Price's return will provide some much-needed relief to a thin starting rotation. On top of being without the left-hander, the Red Sox lost knuckleballer Steven Wright for the season with a knee injury and have been forced to rely on Kyle Kendrick, Brian Johnson, and Hector Velazquez.

In his first season with the Red Sox last year, Price combined to a 17-9 record in a career-high 35 starts and a league-leading 230 innings pitched. He would finish with 228 strikeouts, a 3.99 ERA, and 1.20 WHIP.