David Price doesn't need Tommy John surgery

Mike Oz
David Price won't need Tommy John surgery, which is the best possible news for the Red Sox. (AP)
David Price won't need Tommy John surgery, which is the best possible news for the Red Sox. (AP)

Boston, you can exhale now. David Price doesn’t need Tommy John surgery.

The Boston Red Sox’s $217 million man was sent to Dr. James Andrews for a second opinion on his sore elbow, and the news the Red Sox got back Friday was the best possible outcome: No surgery, just rest and treatment.

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Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe says Price needs 7-10 days off, which all Red Sox fans will agree is better than the 12-18 months that elbow surgery would require. He’s expected back at Red Sox camp Saturday.

Price, 31, has logged 1,671 innings over his big-league career, no small feat. He led the AL in innings pitched in 2014 and 2016. He also throws hard, so Red Sox fans feared the worst when news spread of Price’s sore elbow. Price is coming off a subpar year by his high standards, particularly that 3.99 ERA. But he still managed to strike out 228 batters, so it wasn’t all bad.

The Red Sox geared up to be a World Series contender this offseason, trading for Chris Sale to create a Sale-Price-Rick Porcello trio at the front of their rotation. Losing Price would have been a major blow. Now the Red Sox will wait and see how Price responds to treatment. But playing wait-and-see is much better than going under the knife.

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Mike Oz is the editor of Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at mikeozstew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!