Young, Price Now Boston Red Sox

David Price and David Ortiz have had several public confrontations in the past three years, but now that the left-handed ace is headed to the Red Sox, Boston's designated hitter is ready to receive him with open arms.

"That's fine. We need pitching and David Price is a great pitcher and has showed that for years. I hope he will help us," Ortiz told 102.5 FM in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, on Wednesday. "It's a marquee pitcher, and that's what we need."

The Red Sox reached a seven-year, $217 million preliminary agreement with Price on Tuesday, sources confirmed to ESPN after The Boston Globe reported the deal.

The issues between Ortiz and Price began during the 2013 AL Division Series between Boston and Tampa Bay. The pitcher criticized the slugger for the way he circled the bases after hitting a home run in a 7-4 Red Sox win at Fenway Park.

In May 2014 in Boston, the next meeting between the teams, Price hit the slugger with a pitch in the first inning. After the game, Big Papi said, among other things: "It's a war. It's on. Next time he hits me, he better bring the gloves. I have no respect for him no more."

As if that wasn't enough, during the All-Star festivities this year in Cincinnati, Price said that Ortiz, who had been in nine of the 10 previous Midsummer Classics, wasn't the same hitter as before.

"If he were, he would be here right now," Price said about Ortiz, who drove in 108 runs and hit 37 homers in 2015 to reach the 500 home-run mark in his 19-year MLB career.

That appears to be water under the bridge.

Don't expect any more blockbusters from the Boston Red Sox this offseason, new baseball boss Dave Dombrowski said after announcing a deal with outfielder Chris Young on Wednesday.

The $13 million, two-year contract to make Young a fourth outfielder comes a day after the Red Sox agreed to give potential ace David Price the biggest deal ever for a pitcher: $217 million over seven years, sources confirmed to ESPN. That agreement has not been announced.

Young, 32, had been with the New York Yankees since August 2014, batting .252 with 14 homers and 42 RBIs in 318 at-bats. He hit .327 against left-handers this season; with its 37-foot high Green Monster just 310 feet from the plate in left field, Fenway Park seems ideal for his swing.

"One of my major strengths is pulling the ball. I think that Fenway can be advantageous to that," Young said. "Hopefully, my just-misses, I can get rewarded for that."

Pirates Decline Contract To Alvarez

Pedro Alvarez's time with the Pittsburgh Pirates is over. The club declined to offer a 2016 contract to Alvarez on Wednesday, making him a free agent.

A former first-round pick, Alvarez, 28, led Pittsburgh with 27 homers in 2015 but struggled defensively after making the transition from third base to first. Alvarez's 23 errors led the team.

He made $5.75 million last season and probably was due a significant raise in arbitration. The Pirates acquired first baseman Michael Morse from the Los Angeles Dodgers at the trade deadline in July.

Alvarez was an important part of Pittsburgh's rise to contention. He was an All-Star in 2013, when his 36 homers tied for the National League lead and the Pirates made the postseason for the first time in 21 years. His defense at third eroded in 2014, and he eventually lost the starting job to Josh Harrison.

The club moved Alvarez over to first base full time in spring training this year, but he had difficulty adjusting to the position and was used in a platoon during the second half of the season as the Pirates earned a wild-card berth for the third consecutive year.