Less than 24 hours after it was first reported, David Price's deal with the Boston Red Sox is already sending ripples throughout MLB.
Price and the Red Sox agreed on a seven-year, $217 million deal, a new record for a starting pitcher in terms of average annual value ($31 million). As is always the case with a significant free-agent signing, Price's new contract will have plenty of ramifications on this winter's market, which ESPN Insider Buster Olney laid out in his column this morning.
Most important is the effect that Price's deal will have on fellow free-agent starter Zack Greinke. With Price no longer available, Greinke becomes the best available starting pitcher and looks as if he'll break Price's short-lived record when he does sign. Greinke is coming off a better season than Price and is believed to be the subject of a bidding war between the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants.
ESPN Insider Jim Bowden says he expects Greinke to land a six-year deal with an average annual value of $32 million per year and hears from a source close to the situation that a decision will come in the next 48 hours. The Dodgers are still the favorite to land the 32-year-old, Bob Nightengale of USA Today tweets.
Other pitchers that stand to benefit from Price's deal include Johnny Cueto and Jeff Samardzija, as well as third-tier arms like Wei-Yin Chen and Mike Leake, Olney writes. Whichever team loses the Greinke sweepstakes -- Dodgers or Giants -- might become desperate for the starting pitching they so desperately need and pay more for one of those arms.
Here are a few other rumors making their way around the majors today:
Ben Zobrist: The asking price for the free-agent utilityman "keeps going up," a source tells Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports. Passan notes that the sense among interested teams is that Zobrist's price tag stands at four years, $60 million and may go even higher. Plenty of teams have rumored interest in the veteran, including the Kansas City Royals, St. Louis Cardinals and New York Mets, among others. At 34 years old, a four-year deal is a lot for a player like Zobrist, however, his unique skill set on a thin market for hitters makes it likely that a team may go that far to land him.
Chris Carter: The Houston Astros are looking to trade Carter in advance of today's tender deadline, sources tell Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com. Houston is shopping Carter to AL teams, given the fact that he fits best on a roster as a designated hitter. The 28-year-old brings serious power to the plate but struggles to make contact, hitting .199 last season and .217 for his career. If the Stros don't move Carter by the end of the day, they'll likely tender him a contract only if they know they can trade him, Evan Drellich of the Houston Chronicle reports. In addition to Carter, Houston is also willing to trade outfielder Jake Marisnick in a deal for pitching, Crasnick tweets.
Trevor Plouffe: Given the Minnesota Twins' signing of Byung Ho Park to a four-year, $12 million deal on Tuesday, many expected the team might try to trade Plouffe this winter. However, Twins general manager Terry Ryan told reporters, including LaVelle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star Tribune, the team plans to keep Plouffe. "We had trouble scoring runs last year," Ryan said. "We're going to go with what we've got." In order to accommodate his excess of infielders, Ryan said Miguel Sano will be moved to the outfield in 2016. Sano has never played outfield in his professional career.
Justin Masterson: The Pittsburgh Pirates are interested in the free-agent right-hander, a source tells Travis Sawchik of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Masterson, who is coming off a rough season with the Red Sox, is likely looking for a one-year deal, Sawchick adds, so he can rebuild value. The 30-year-old has battled injuries the last two seasons but was an All-Star in 2013, which means he still could have value -- something Pittsburgh has been great at finding the last few years.
Arbitration deals: Keep an eye out for arbitration-eligible players that are agreeing to new contracts with their teams before tonight's midnight (ET) non-tender deadline. A couple so far: Vance Worley has agreed to a one-year, $2.6 million deal with the Baltimore Orioles and the Chicago Cubs have agreed to a 1.42 million deal with Rex Brothers, Jon Heyman of CBS Sports reports.
