NESN – David Price’s redemption tour will continue right where it began. The Boston Red Sox pitcher removed any uncertainty about his future Wednesday, declaring ahead of the team’s World Series championship parade he won’t exercise the opt-out clause in his contract and will remain with the team. “I’m opting in,” Price said, via Chris Mason of the The Eagle-Tribune. “I’m not going anywhere. I want to win here. We did that this year and I want to do it again.” Price has four years and $127 million remaining on the seven-year, $217 million contract he signed with Boston in 2016. He had until midnight Wednesday to decide whether to continue on that contract or to opt out and hit free agency, but it appears he’s already made his decision.

This should come as no surprise because the guy finally conquered his biggest demons on in the postseason, which has been the bane of his existence for the past 3 years. He’s finally figured it out in the playoffs, why leave now? All the grief David Price has taken over the years has been almost entirely rooted in his postseason failures. It would not shock me one bit to see him have a John Lackey type turnaround with Red Sox fans.

But theres also the fact that over his first three seasons with Boston, Price has gone 39-19 with a 3.74 ERA.

• 2016
  • 17-9
  • 3.99 ERA
  • 228 K’s
  • 35 Starts and 230 IP
• 2017
  • 6-3
  • 3.38 ERA
  • 76 K’s
  • 11 Starts and 74.2 IP
• 2018
  • 16-7
  • 3.58 ERA
  • 177 K’s
  • 30 Starts and 176 IP

Not terrible numbers, but not exactly elite. Sure some of those ERA numbers are inflated by a few horrendous starts, but they all count. Price has shown he is prone to streaky pitching though where he follows up a bad month with stretches of being untouchable.

Those numbers coupled with the fact Price is now 33-years-old would make it unlikely for him command the same $127 Million over 4 years on the open market. Plus it seems like his teammates genuinely like the guy so you put all those factors together and it’s no surprise David Price chose to stay with the Sox. Not to mention with 2 straight years of health issues for Chris Sale down the stretch, the Sox are in no position to be jettisoning starters.

David Price does indeed hold all the cards now.

“I hold all the cards now.” – David Price
Price in his final 3 postseason starts: (3-0) 19.0 IP, 3 ER, 9 H, 5 BB, 19 K#WorldSeries #RedSox Full Press Conference: https://t.co/PegSUQI1i4 pic.twitter.com/E9OneGn9HQ

— NESN (@NESN) October 29, 2018