David Price does not plan on opting out of the remaining four years of his record contract with the Boston Red Sox.
After all, Price said, why would he "go to a lesser team. For what?"
Price discussed his future with the Red Sox on Tuesday, telling MassLive that he hasn't thought about leaving Boston and saying that he wants to "continue to be good here."
"Why would I leave here to go to a team that's not as good as this team?" Price told MassLive. "I came here to win. I don't worry about all the other stuff. Just come here to win. We're going to have a really good chance to do that."
Price, 33, is in the third year of his seven-year, $217 million contract with the Red Sox but can opt out of the deal after this season. He is scheduled to make $31 million next season and $32 million in each of the final three years of the deal, which is the richest in baseball history for a pitcher.
Price also touched on his role in Boston's upcoming World Series chase earlier Tuesday in a session with a larger group of reporters in the Red Sox clubhouse. The Red Sox (99-46) became the first team in the majors to clinch a playoff spot later Tuesday and, barring a late-season swoon, will enter the postseason with baseball's best record.
A five-time All-Star, Price has a 5.03 ERA in 17 career postseason appearances, including nine starts. He threw 6⅔ scoreless innings out of the bullpen last year in Boston's ALDS loss to Houston, but struggled in his only postseason start with the Red Sox, allowing five runs in just 3⅓ innings against Cleveland in 2016.
"I could go 35-0 in the regular season with a zero [ERA] and it wouldn't matter," Price told reporters, according to Boston radio station WEEI. "I need to win in October. That's that; [the] regular season means nothing for me."
Price, who is scheduled to start Wednesday in Boston's game against the Blue Jays, is 14-6 with a 3.57 ERA in 27 starts this season. The former Cy Young Award winner has bounced back nicely after a rough start to the season, going 5-0 with a 2.04 ERA over his last nine starts.