Although Mookie Betts has long been the focus of Red Sox trade rumors thanks to his looming free agency and huge arbitration payday on the way, the sledding there hasn’t seemed so smooth. The Sox are trying to get under the $208 million luxury tax, which is going to require unloading serious salary. Betts, who has tons of value, makes a lot more sense on paper than some of the onerous contracts currently on the Red Sox books.
… right?
Well, consider the enormous Stephen Strasburg payday and the coming Gerrit Cole deal, and maybe there is at least one Red Sox contract that suddenly looks considerably more chill?
The Boston Red Sox continue to pursue ways to shed salary, and multiple teams have targeted starter David Price, sources tell ESPN. He is owed $96 million over the next three years. Red Sox could either attach player with value or potentially pay down some of Price's remaining $.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) December 11, 2019
To be sure, Price, 34, wouldn’t get three years and $96 million right now on the open market – hence the pay down and/or player attachment – but he’s been a useful pitcher the last couple years, and might look like a good alternative to committing hundreds of millions of dollars over the better part of the next decade (depending on just how much the contract is paid down, of course).
Interestingly, Rhett Bollinger reports that the Angels could be an option for a Price trade. A hedge against losing out on Cole? An attempt at leverage in those talks? Or just simple interest in a pitcher (the Angels could use a couple)?
The Cubs are not in the market to add a guy like Price in this situation, obviously, but the fallout from the Red Sox dumping salary could be wide-reaching, including the possibility of other NL Central clubs trying to get a bargain from a desperate Boston club. It’s not at all impossible to imagine the Brewers trying to pick up a pitcher this way with a ton of salary eaten, or the Cardinals taking a shot on Price (a guy they previously pursued) in the right deal.