Red Sox lefty David Price undergoes MRI on elbow after complaining of pain
David Price underwent an MRI on his left elbow after he experienced forearm and elbow pain, Boston Red Sox manager John Farrell said Thursday.
Price, entering the second year of a seven-year, $217 million contract, experienced forearm pain on Wednesday, the day after he pitched a two-inning simulated game. He will visit noted orthopedists James Andrews or Neal ElAttrache for a second opinion on the MRI results; both doctors are presently in Indianapolis for the NFL combine.
Club President Dave Dombrowski and Farrell told reporters in Fort Myers, Fla. that Price has experienced similar discomfort in past springs, but differed on the degree in which it stood out from previous years.
“He has had it in the past," Dombrowski said, "and he said it’s not significantly different.”
That differs from Farrell's earlier assessment, in which he said Price noted the forearm pain was of a greater intensity than before.
Price, 31, led the American League with 230 innings pitched in his first year in Boston, and recently told Paste BN Sports he expected his “best season I've ever had” in 2017. The Red Sox, led by Cy Young Award winner Rick Porcello won the AL East in 2016, and added another lefty ace in Chris Sale in a December trade, stoking expectations for this season.
While there'd be no replacing Price, who finished fourth in the AL with 228 strikeouts in 2016, the Red Sox do have pitching depth to utilize if he's sidelined for any significant period. Left-handers Eduardo Rodriguez and Drew Pomeranz and All-Star knuckleballer Steven Wright were slated to battle for the final two rotation spots behind Porcello, Sale and Price.