David Price was on the Red Sox’s radar from the moment Dave Dombrowski was hired as Boston’s president of baseball operations back in August. The front office admitted as much Friday at Price’s introductory press conference at Fenway Park.
The Red Sox’s first significant step toward signing the ace to a seven-year, $217 million contract, however, came Nov. 19 in Nashville, Tenn., where Price and his agent, Bo McKinnis, went for dinner with much of the organization’s top brass, according to The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier.
Dombrowski, Red Sox principal owner John Henry, team president Sam Kennedy, vice president Frank Wren, general manager Mike Hazen and manager John Farrell were among those in attendance, according to WEEI.com’s John Tomase, who notes that Price sported jeans and a backward baseball cap.
Hazen presented Price with a program featuring the left-hander on the cover in a Red Sox uniform, according to Tomase. The other side of the program featured Price’s beloved dog, Astro, which McKinnis told Tomase “set the tone for the rest of the evening.”
Price showed an interest in the Red Sox’s entire roster, including their farm system, during the dinner, it was revealed Friday. According to the pitcher, Henry explained that Boston could sign him for a certain amount of money and still have the resources to add pieces in the future. It left an impression on Price, who expressed a desire to be part of Boston’s winning sports culture.
“The moment that dinner was over,” McKinnis told The Globe, “David and I hopped in a car to go home. The first words out of his mouth were, ‘Well, that made me want to be a Red Sox.’ ”
Price also left an impression on the Red Sox, who were very familiar with the five-time All-Star’s work, having faced him plenty of times in the American League East, yet not so familiar with the person.
“Like most Red Sox fans, I was sort of not inclined to really like David Price,” Kennedy told WEEI.com. “I’ve been watching him for so long, and he’s so frustrating to face and I just had this image in my mind of someone who’s probably not going to be the best guy. You walk out of that dinner and he’s one of the nicest guys, one of the most genuine, authentic people you’ll ever meet.”
Dombrowski said Friday that multiple people — from a player perspective and a staff perspective — have called Price the best teammate they’ve ever had. The 30-year-old’s character and status as a clubhouse leader undoubtedly played a role in the Red Sox’s decision to go after the veteran southpaw.
According to Speier, Price’s initial list of potential free-agent destinations included five National League teams (St. Louis Cardinals, Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles Dodgers, San Francisco Giants and Washington Nationals) and six American League teams (Red Sox, Kansas City Royals, Minnesota Twins, Toronto Blue Jays, Tampa Bay Rays and Detroit Tigers). The Red Sox ultimately decided to go all-in after analyzing a potential deal from various angles. And not a moment too soon.
“(St. Louis) was the direction we were going in. They were being quite aggressive with us. They were anxious to move forward,” McKinnis told McKinnis. “It had nothing to do with liking or disliking the Red Sox. It was more just the courtship by the Cardinals.”
Price signed with the Red Sox less than two weeks after the Nov. 19 dinner in Nashville, marking a successful end to a pursuit Dombrowski first broached even before taking his new job with the club in August. Both sides seemingly are thrilled with the outcome.
“We knew what we wanted, and we got it,” said McKinnis told Speier. “We got the team we wanted. We got the contract we wanted. It worked out great.”
Henry, of course, previously showed a reluctance to giving long-term contracts to pitchers in their 30s, so one could argue Price’s monstrous deal represents a change in organizational philosophy. One must be willing to adapt, though. And the Red Sox didn’t just want an ace. They wanted Price.
“There are exceptions to any rule and certainly this is the most exceptional of pitchers,” Henry said.
Thumbnail photo via Twitter/@MLB
