Red Sox: Price Fears Drastic Changes If Struggles Continue

BOSTON, MA - OCTOBER 3: J.D. Martinez #28 and Mookie Betts #50 of the Boston Red Sox look on during a workout before the American League Division Series on October 3, 2018 at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)
BOSTON, MA - OCTOBER 3: J.D. Martinez #28 and Mookie Betts #50 of the Boston Red Sox look on during a workout before the American League Division Series on October 3, 2018 at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

The Boston Red Sox have started off the season on the wrong foot, and LHP David Price told the media there could be major changes if they don’t start winning.

After the Boston Red Sox lost their second game in a row against the New York Yankees, David Price voiced his displeasure in his team’s performance so far this season.

“We don’t play better, Mookie Betts will be traded, J.D. Martinez will be traded. It will be tough for a while here.”

That is nothing short of a bold statement, especially when the team is coming off of a World Series title and Mookie Betts just won the MVP.

But David Price is making a good point when it comes to their laughable farm system.

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“We’re what, 30th in minor league systems?”

Now, fans will just tell you that you don’t need a good farm system when you are contending year in and year out, and winning championships, but you have to read between the lines.

If we are talking about the present, you can say the Red Sox should not be trading their best two players just because they are off to a 6-13 start, but if you look at who will be a free agent in the near future, then you may be in favor of overhauling the roster less than a year after getting a World Series ring.

Rick Porcello, Mitch Moreland, Eduardo Nunez, Steve Pearce, and Brock Holt are free agents after this season. Outfielders Mookie Betts and Jackie Bradley Jr. are hitting the market after 2021. J.D. Martinez, David Price, and Nathan Eovaldi are free agents in 2023.

Those names are players that provide huge contributions to the Red Sox, so if I was Dave Dombrowski I would at least think about trading some of them for prospects to become the next wave of players to put on a Red Sox uniform.

There are playoff caliber teams like the Indians, Dodgers, and Cubs that would love to trade prospects away to acquire an outfielder or a starting pitcher to give them some more depth to perhaps put them over the edge to win a World Series.

By no regards am I saying that the Red Sox should trade Betts, Martinez or Price just because they 8.5 games back of the Tampa Bay Rays and have the worst farm system in the league, but they should certainly start digging for some prospects to target if the Red Sox continue to lose ballgames.