Red Sox top 10 most memorable moments of 2015
By Sean Penney
Red Sox sign David Price
December 4, 2015
Dave Dombrowski entered his first offseason at the helm of the Red Sox front office with a primary objective of finding an ace to anchor the rotation. Not only did he find one, he managed to land his top choice, who arguably was the best pitcher on the market.
In order to lure David Price to Boston, all it took was the largest contract ever given to a pitcher. While Zack Greinke would top his average annual earnings before the ink had even dried on Price’s deal, the 7-year, $217 million deal the Red Sox handed their new ace remains the highest in terms of total dollars.
He’s worth the price. The 30-year old lefty is coming off a season in which he led the league with a 2.45 ERA and topped 200 strikeouts for the fourth time in the last five years. He has a Cy Young award on his resume and finished as the runner-up last season, while finishing 9th in MVP voting.
Dombrowski explored every conceivable angle in his quest to find a top of the rotation starter. When the asking price proved to be too high on the trade market, Boston’s new president of baseball operations turned to free agency. The former Tigers GM has a history with Price, having once traded for him during his time in Detroit. His familiarity with the lefty was a factor in making him the top target on Dombrowski’s wish list, while it certainly didn’t hurt that Price is AL East tested after spending the first six and a half years of his career with the Tampa Bay Rays and finishing last season in Toronto.
Next: Players that should have called Fenway home
After the bold decision to go with a staff filled with middle of the rotation starters predictably failed, the Red Sox weren’t messing around this year. There won’t be any “He’s the Ace” tee-shirts being handed out in spring training this time. Everyone knows who the ace is on this staff now and he’s the biggest reason to be optimistic that the Red Sox will bounce back to contention in 2016.