Red Sox manager Alex Cora has avoided pressing the panic button amid Boston's abysmal start to 2019.
It's safe to say David Price has a different mindset.
The Red Sox pitcher made some eye-opening comments to The Boston Globe's Alex Speier on Wednesday night, suggesting major changes could be coming for the defending World Series champions if they don't improve on their 6-13 start.
Here's the kicker:
"If we don’t start playing better, J.D. Martinez, Mookie Betts, maybe myself, we could get traded. We’re, what, 30th in minor league systems?” Price noted, referencing Baseball America’s recent organization rankings that did indeed feature the Red Sox with the No. 30 farm system. “We’re dead last. We don’t play better, Mookie Betts will be traded, J.D. Martinez will be traded. It will be tough for a while here.”
Price was drawing on experience, as the Rays' disappointing 2014 season following a 2013 playoff berth prompted a fire sale in Tampa Bay that included his trade to the Detroit Tigers.
The Red Sox still have plenty of time to right the ship in 2019, but Price seems to have a bit more urgency.
"It needs to happen now," Price said. "Boston doesn’t handle losing well. I get that. The Celtics are good, the Bruins are good, the Patriots are always winning, and the Red Sox are always good.
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"If we don’t play better, there’s going to be a lot of changes around here. I remember when Boston won the World Series in 2013. In 2014, they were trash. Trash."
Price may just be trying to light a fire under his teammates, but considering the Red Sox are less than 20 games removed from a World Series title, these are pretty strong remarks. Not that he's totally off-base: Martinez hits free agency this offseason while Betts will command a massive contract the following year, so if Boston continues its free fall, a move to shore up its depleted farm system might not be too crazy.
That's all to say the Red Sox should probably start winning games, especially with a three-game series against the American League East-leading Rays looming this weekend.
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