Price is right in bullpen
Best way to get him back for playoffs
CLEVELAND — On the growing list of injuries the Red Sox are dealing with right now, the outlook for David Price remains the thorniest and most mysterious.
The Red Sox can end the mystery with a decision that would help the team and Price, plus eliminate the drama regarding his lack of postseason success as a starter.
Forget about trying to get Price back on the mound in time to build up enough innings to make a start in late September or the postseason.
Just get him back on the mound, and then make him a reliever.
It’s an idea that is not dismissed as crazy when bounced off the Red Sox. It is only premature.
“Right now, we look at him as a starter,” said Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski, who said that the ballclub still believes there is enough time for Price to return as a starter if he continues to progress at his current rate.
That current rate is on the glacially slow side, which is why unlike the injuries to second baseman Dustin Pedroia (knee), Matt Barnes (back) and the latest to Jackie Bradley Jr. (thumb), a return at all by Price is shrouded in uncertainty.
Since his most recent start July 22, when his forearm strain from spring training reappeared, Price has yet to step onto a mound.
He was headed toward a bullpen session about 10 days ago after several intensively reported long-toss sessions, but then some discomfort emerged and the brakes were applied.
The Red Sox are allowing him to proceed with caution.
Yesterday, manager John Farrell said Price was able to throw from 105 feet on flat ground back in Boston, but that today will be a lighter day.
Price probably needs to be back on the mound within the next two weeks if he’s to have a shot at starting in late September or October. Farrell is quite aware of the calendar, which is why he said last week he was both hopeful yet realistic about Price being able to pitch again this season.
“I think I was just being realistic with what he was currently involved in, when you realistically look at the calendar and then what the progression is needed to get back to that,” Farrell said yesterday. “I’m not ruling it out, but I think at the same time being realistic.”
It is all about getting Price back on the mound, and so far everyone with the Red Sox says there’s still time for that to happen. That is why the subject of having him pitch out of the bullpen has not been broached with Price yet.
However, considering the calendar, considering the massive investment the Red Sox have in Price for at least one more season, and considering that if surgery does become necessary it likely would sideline Price for all of next season and possibly into 2019 as well, both the Red Sox and their left-hander can minimize the risk and maximize his very real talent in the short term by simply focusing on the more modest —and more realistic — goal of making a reliever out of him for the 2017 postseason.
Imagine the value he could provide as a weapon out of the bullpen. Actually, you don’t have to imagine.
Think back to 2008, when the 22-year-old Price played a significant role in eliminating the Red Sox from the ALCS. Price had been called up in mid-September, just 14 months after being the first overall pick of the Rays. He started one game for them but was a reliever for the other four. In the ALCS, manager Joe Maddon turned to him, and Price responded with dominating stuff.
In Game 1, he got the final out with one batter faced in a Rays loss. In Game 2, he got the win with two-thirds of an inning pitched in the 11th inning. And in Game 7, he recorded the save with 11⁄3 hitless innings.
The Red Sox likely will have to carefully manage Pedroia’s usage for the duration of the season and postseason to make sure he does not re-aggravate a chronic knee issue.
Barnes’ back problem is not considered that serious, and the club does not seem overly concerned about Bradley’s injury, although the acquisition of Rajai Davis yesterday also offered some insurance in that department.
The Red Sox already have adjusted to Price’s absence pretty well, which is not at all the same as saying they are better off without him than they are with him. But his recovery is going so slowly, and they are being so cautious, a change in strategy is called for.
Get Price back but do it the quick way:
Use him in the bullpen for the postseason.
Everyone wins, especially Price.