As if it weren’t bad enough seeing David Price ink a 7-year/$217M contract with the division rival Boston Red Sox, his agent, Bo McKinnis, had to go and rub salt in the wounds of Toronto Blue Jays fans by saying his client loved his time in the city and absolutely would have returned to the club.
The one problem? Toronto never made an offer.
“David absolutely would’ve gone back there,” McKinnis told MLB Network Radio of a potential return to Toronto, where the 30-year-old lefty went 9-1 with a2.30 ERA in 11 starts after being acquired from the Detroit Tigers in exchange for a trio of left-handed pitching prospects. “I think that was the most difficult part for David as we went through this process because he had a wonderful time there and the bulk of the club is back there and he would’ve enjoyed being with them.”
This has quickly become a revelation that has fractured the Blue Jays faithful.
Half of the fan base is already keen on firing new President Mark Shapiro, blaming him for Price’s departure and failing to see if the last year’s deadline acquisition would give the club a discount, while the other segment sees the hefty price that Boston had to pay to acquire his services and believes that although McKinnis’ comments may be genuine, Price wasn’t going to cut the Blue Jays a serious break on his annual salary, so the team was smart to let him skate.
Looking at the total dollar amount and the term, it’s hard not to think the Jays made the right call here, even though Price was outstanding down the stretch and has historically been one of the top starters in the American League. Paying anyone an average annual salary north of $30M rarely works out well and it has the potential to go sideways quick when that player is already entering his 30-year-old season.
Though Price has an opt-out clause built into his new deal, do you really think a 33-year-old pitcher is going to leave roughly $120M on the table to become a free agent? It’s a nice option to have in there, but chances are Price is going to be locked in with the Red Sox for the duration of this deal.
And that’s why Toronto passing makes perfect sense.
Should Shapiro have kicked the tires on a return to Toronto? Floated out a number that would have been acceptable to him and see what Team Price had to say in return? Probably, but you get the sense that he knew the starting dollar amount was going to be something he was uncomfortable with, so why even bother going through the motion?
Before anyone says, “Just in case he was willing to take $20M per yer to play in Toronto,” remind me of the last time a player took a significantly lesser contract to stick around a Canadian franchise in any of the major sports?
We’re still two months away from pitchers and catchers reporting for Spring Training and new general manager Ross Atkins hasn’t even been on the job for seven days. Pump the breaks. Stop calling for Shapiro’s job. Don’t assume the team is going to slide back into mediocrity just because Price is now pitching for the Red Sox. Take a breath, see how the rest of the offseason shakes out and give the team a couple months of meaningful games before determining whether this was a colossal disaster or a savvy decision by the new regime.
