Steve Webb
David Price has always been his own dude. Outspoken, prickly at times with the press, and fiercely independent. So it wasn’t all that surprising when the former Cy Young winner opted out of the 2020 season, citing concerns about his family’s health and the quality of the league’s coronavirus protocols.
Though he didn’t play on the field, Price did contribute in his own unique way last season, reaching into his own pocket to pay $1,000 to every Dodgers minor leaguer in the system. “I will miss my teammates and will be cheering for them throughout the season and on to a World Series victory,” he said in a statement at the time. “I’m sorry I won’t be playing for you this year, but look forward to representing you next year.”
Well, next year is fast approaching, and God and Covid willing, there will be baseball in the Spring. Assuming that Price takes the field with his teammates next season, what can Dodger fans expect from him? Let’s dive into the numbers.
First things first, even if the Dodgers get nothing out of Price, he came as almost a Lucky Strike extra in the Mookie Betts deal, so it’s going to be hard to criticize any deal that gets the team one of the top five players on the planet. Plus, even though Price’s contract is hefty, $64 million over the next two years, the Dodgers aren’t on the hook for all of it. As part of the trade deal with the Red Sox, Boston agreed to carry half the freight of Price’s salary for the remainder of the contract.
Betts, with only one season before free agency, was the sweetener to make the Price salary dump make sense for both teams. So when all is said and done, the Dodgers didn’t have to pay Price anything in 2020 because of the opt-out, and will be paying him an average of $16 million a year over the next two years.
And what does the team get for this outlay of cash? Clearly, David Price is on the downslope of his career. At 35, the lefty is now with his fifth different team. His best years by far were with the Joe Maddon-era Tampa Bay (Devil) Rays. A first-overall pick out of Vanderbilt in 2007 draft, Price made his MLB debut in 2008 at the age of 22. He even pitched out of the bullpen during the Devil Rays’ first-ever World Series run that year, notching a 2.70 ERA in three innings of relief work in the fall classic.
In the seasons that followed, Price quickly established himself as one of the game’s premier left-handed pitchers. In 2012, Price was dominant. He led the American League in wins (20-5) and ERA (2.56), edging out Justin Verlander for the Cy Young award, becoming the first Tampa Bay pitcher ever to win the prize.
But once you hit the stratosphere, you can be sure that the front office in Tampa won’t be able to afford you. Traded mid-season in 2014, Price became a bit of a hired gun, spending part of two seasons in Detroit, half a year in Toronto, and four in Boston. And while his regular season numbers with these teams were always solid, Price was always haunted by postseason failure. Like his fellow Cy Young winner Clayton Kershaw, Price couldn’t seem to shake the “choker” label in the playoffs. And to be honest, until 2018, he was a bad pitcher in the postseason. Like, really bad. In eight ALDS appearances, he was 1-8 with a 5.63 ERA.
However, that all changed in 2018, much to the dismay of the Dodger faithful. After an okay run in the American League playoffs, Price was practically untouchable in the World Series. Starting games, pitching on short rest, coming out of the bullpen, the guy was everywhere it seemed. He logged 13 innings over three appearances in the five-game series, and pretty much owned the Dodgers hitters. His 1.98 ERA in the Series was one of the big reasons the Sox were able to hoist the Commissioner’s Trophy as disgusted Dodger fans filed toward the exits. “Sure, he has to pick now not to be horrible,” they must have been thinking.
But as they say, that was then and this is now. Price is wearing the Dodger blue now, and fans will be more than satisfied if they can see a hint of the David Price who tormented them that October. However, his 2019 was lackluster. After all, 7 wins and 4.28 ERA is hardly the stuff of a 30-million-dollar pitcher. And, to be honest, Baseball Reference is not expecting much more than that in 2021. According to their projections, they see Price pitching 71 innings next year, with an ERA of 4.31. That seems a bit on the low side. One could see Price fitting in nicely as a fourth starter, after Walker Buehler, Clayton Kershaw, and Julio Urias.
Even if he is only a spot starter, his years of experience will be invaluable as a mentor to younger pitchers like, Dustin May, Tony Gonsolin, and Brusdar Graterol as they continue to develop. One could even see him morphing into a reliever, much like John Smoltz was able to do later in his career. At his best, Price is a fierce competitor with electric stuff, and guys like that are always hand to have around. And what’s 16 million dollars among friends anyway, right?
