Red Sox: David Price vows to pay Dodger minor leaguers through June

The long journey of the Red Sox and David Price

When the Red Sox traded David Price this past winter it felt like a unanimous decision from the fanbase. Now, I know that isn’t true and I for one would’ve liked to have kept him on the roster. I also wrote trade proposals that had him as the centerpiece all offseason. Much like Price’s time in Boston, the offseason was a bit of a rollercoaster.

Former President of Baseball Ops Dave Dombrowski brought Price to Boston after sending time with him in Detroit. He backed the Brinks truck up to the lefty’s house in the sum of 7-years/$217M, the largest contract for a pitcher at the time. With three years and $96M left on the deal heading into 2020, the wallet was getting tight.

David Price was the rock of the Red Sox rotation and was the chief ace of the roster until Chris Sale showed up to Boston. Even as the number two of the staff, he was as reliable as could be and often stepped up when the team needed him the most. During the 2018 postseason, he finally shook the ghosts of October’s past off his back and was dominant.

However, his massive contract was becoming an albatross around the neck of the Red Sox budget, and the trade was made. Chaim Bloom was able to get Boston’s favorite trade partners, the Dodgers, to once again bail the Sox out of a poor contract situation. Bloom also pulled back a solid haul of prospects in return, which follows his M.O. perfectly.

Former Red Sox ace David Price proves again to be a great teammate

That’s enough of the highlights, the reason we’re all here today is to talk about how great of a teammate Price is. Throughout his time in the league it didn’t matter if he was with Tampa, Toronto, Detroit, or the Red Sox, he’s always been labeled as a great guy to play with. The media may have another opinion of the man but those that take the field with him will always sing his praises.

Now that he’s with the Dodgers, he’s wasting little to no time to once again rise to the occasion of being a great guy. As we all know the MLB was looking for a way to strip the minors, removing several teams and homes for players.

This past week was another dark chapter in the story of baseball. ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported that several teams have decided to no longer pay their minor leaguers, and hundreds to possibly over a thousand could be cut by the end of next week, Boston included.

Teams like the Twins and Royals have vowed to pay their minor leaguers without pause and won’t fire or furlough any employees. David Price may not have the bankroll of a team owner but he’s doing his part for the future of the Dodgers.

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Per Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com, Price has pledged to pay $1000 to more than 200 minor leaguers throughout the LA developmental system. Considering minor leaguers make little to no money and have been making just $400 per week, this is a hell of a raise.

To put it into perspective, Price has yet to throw a single meaningful pitch for the Dodger organization and he’s already doing more for their minor leaguers than many teams as a whole. Once again, speaking to the level of teammate that he has been lauded to be.

I don’t know David Price and would never claim to, but this is one hell of an act by him and he has my respect. He may not even know most of these guys’ names but he’s going above and beyond to help them when they need it the most. Many will argue that players make too much money, but in the minors, these guys barely make enough to survive. Even doing so for just the month of June, by helping these minor leaguers out Price may be affecting them more than he’ll ever know.

David Price was a fantastic pitcher for the Red Sox and was an even better teammate. Ask anyone he’s played with and that’s likely to be the story that you’ll get. Though he’s only been with the Dodgers for a few months and has yet to play in a game, he’s already their 2020 MVP. Big shouts to the veteran lefty for changing people’s lives and making the day just a tiny bit brighter.