MLB Free Agents 2016: Boston Red Sox Trying Hard to Sign Both David Price, Zack Greinke
The Boston Red Sox are in need of starting pitching after the staff combined for a 4.39 ERA last season, per ESPN. According to several reports, President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski is trying hard to sign both or at least one from David Price and Zack Greinke.
Tom Verducci of Sports Illustrated said on the MLB Network that Dombrowski and the Red Sox are "all in" for Price, per Joon Lee on Twitter. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports added that Boston also intends to add Greinke after they've signed Price, as reported by CBS Boston.
Mass Live noted that the MLB Winter Meetings will be held in Nashville, Tennessee, the hometown of the left-handed ace. Dombrowski stated after they acquired closer Craig Kimbrel from the San Diego Padres last week that they are done trading and will add players via free agency.
"We're in a spot where this is probably our major acquisition for the wintertime as far as the trade market is concerned. That's what my instincts tell me," Dombrowski said.
Price went 18-5 with a 2.45 ERA and 1.08 WHIP in 220.1 innings for the Detroit Tigers and Toronto Blue Jays, per Baseball Reference. His only drawback is a 2-7 record in the postseason in 14 appearances, although he finished second in the 2015 AL Cy Young voting, losing to Houston Astros' ace Dallas Keuchel.
According to Chicago Sun-Times, the Chicago Cubs, Toronto Blue Jays and Los Angeles Dodgers are also interested in the 30-year-old ace. His projected contract can reach $200 million, close to what the Washington Nationals gave Max Scherzer last offseason.
Zack Greinke, on the other hand, finished the season with an impressive 19-3 record with an MLB-leading 1.66 ERA. He also finished second to the Cubs' Jake Arrieta in the Cy Young voting in the NL. He has a career record of 142-93 with a 3.35 ERA while playing for the Kansas City Royals, Milwaukee Brewers, Los Angeles Angels and the Dodgers, per Baseball Reference.
Bleacher Report notes that the San Francisco Giants are the frontrunners to sign Greinke away from the Dodgers and Red Sox. The former AL Cy Young winner is looking for a deal with at least six years and an annual salary of about $23 million.
Other free agent starters available for the Red Sox if they fail to sign either player are Wei-Yin Chen, Johnny Cueto, Yovani Gallardo, Jeff Samardzija and Jordan Zimmerman.
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