Leading up to this offseason, a big question was if David Price would elect to exercise the opt-out clause in his contract.
Price didn’t leave much room for speculation though, as the southpaw made the decision to stay with the Red Sox just a couple days after they won the 2018 World Series.
While there’s probably a handful of reasons why he elected not to opt out, one of the reasons is quite simple. During his media availability Thursday, Price was asked if he thought the decision might be a difficult one at any point.
His response?
Asked David Price if there was ever a time when opting out/in of his contract with the Red Sox was going to be a difficult decision. “Have you seen this free agent market? No, it wasn’t very difficult.”
— Jason Mastrodonato (@JMastrodonato) February 14, 2019
Fair point.
Of course, look no further than Bryce Harper and Manny Machado for examples of stars who remain unsigned. And even though Price has plenty of talent and exorcized some postseason demons this past fall, it would be tough for him to get as lucrative a deal as he currently has in Boston had he tested free agency.
So, yeah, it’s tough to blame Price for sticking around.