Red Sox: Can David Price reclaim fantasy value as a reliever?

With no room in the rotation for the playoffs, the Red Sox moved David Price to the bullpen. Can he reclaim his lost value as a relief pitcher?

The Boston Red Sox signed David Price to a monster contract in 2016, seven-year, $217 million to be exact. He didn’t post Cy Young-like numbers in his first year. Fantasy owners were hoping for a bounce back, as he was the 31st starting pitcher drafted.

Unfortunately, he made just 11 starts this season. He finished as the No. 88 starting pitcher on the ESPN Player Rater. Price had a 3.38 ERA, 3.64 FIP, 1.192 WHIP, 9.2 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9 in his 16 appearances.

Those aren’t bad numbers but that includes two starts with 11 combined earned runs and five shutout relief appearances. Yes, that’s right. Price made five appearances out of the bullpen.

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After 56 days between sightings, he ended the season with 8.2 scoreless innings pitched, 13 strikeouts and just two walks. Opposing batters hit .100/.156/.256 off him in those games.

The Red Sox even used him in relief during their series against the Houston Astros. He pitched 6.2 innings, allowing zero runs on five hits, two walks and six strikeouts.

For someone who has just 18.1 career innings as a reliever, he did a great job this season. I would love to see him back in the bullpen next season. He would be a nice sleeper pick for those in holds leagues.

Boston’s bullpen was a mess this season, outside of Craig Kimbrel. They had multiple relievers with ERAs above 3.50. Having a bullpen that gives up runs does not help the starting pitcher nor the closer in real life or fantasy.

Trade acquisition Addison Reed is a free agent at the end of the year and at just 29 years old, I expect the Red Sox to make a push for him as a valuable piece in their bullpen. Even if they sign Reed, Price can still be a key member of the bullpen as well. Price is a lefty and there are very few lefties in bullpens to combat the right-handed batters.

While he looked good as a reliever, despite the small sample size, I think the Red Sox put Price back into the rotation for next year. I don’t think it’s a performance thing either. I think it’s a financial thing. They have too much money invested in him, $157 million left, to have him in the bullpen.

If he returns to the rotation in 2018, I think Price is an SP6 in standard leagues. He won’t have RP eligibility until he makes 10 bullpen appearances next year. If he does, however, Price’s value could rise as he will have fewer opportunities to give up runs but still be able to rack up the strikeouts.

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