Top 25 MLB players to watch in October

7. David Price

This has been a year to forget for David Price of the Boston Red Sox. His season started late due to lingering elbow soreness that flared up early in Spring Training. Price was able to make 11 wstarts before the elbow landed him back on the DL. In those 11 starts, he went 5-3 with a 3.82 ERA and 4.01 FIP, his worst mark since his first full season in the big leagues. Along the way, Price got himself embroiled in a feud with Red Sox legend and Hall of Famer Dennis Eckersley.

Price is off the disabled list and will head to the bullpen for the rest of the season and will pitch in relief in the playoffs. When he made his MLB debut with the Tampa Bay Rays in 2008, Price was used primarily as a reliever and appeared twice in the World Series. He also inexplicably pitched in relief during the 2015 ALDS for the Toronto Blue Jays.

Price pitching out of the bullpen is going to be an interesting experiment for the Red Sox. He is no longer blessed with dominant velocity and is not used to the rigors of pitching in short bursts. There’s a reason starters working their way back from Tommy John are not immediately rushed back to pitch two times in three days at maximum effort.

The Red Sox need a multi-inning reliever who can match up against the likes of Andrew Miller, Chris Devenski and Dellin Betances. Without enough time to stretch back out for a starting role, Price will have to try and make it work as a reliever before trying to get fully healthy this winter. This move feels like a stretch, and all parties involved might be better off shutting Price down for the year.