A possible setback for the Red Sox, plus other notes

The news from Boston Red Sox camp yesterday seemed ominous. Left-hander David Price was experiencing elbow and forearm discomfort/soreness. He underwent an MRI exam and now is headed to seek additional medical opinions.

No one is saying that will result in a surgery, but Price is heading to Indianapolis (at the NFL scouting combine) to see two of the game's foremost Tommy John experts - Dr. James Andrews and Dr. Neal ElAttrache. Orioles prospects Dylan Bundy and Hunter Harvey have both spent time with Dr. Andrews, who performed Bundy's Tommy John procedure in June 2013.

Price signed a free agent deal with Boston before last season for seven years and $217 million. That is the largest for a pitcher in history. Boston still owes $187 million on that deal.

Price had, for him, a down year in 2016, going 17-9, and his 3.99 ERA would have ranked third in the Orioles rotation behind Kevin Gausman at 3.61 and Chris Tillman at 3.77. Both Gausman and Tillman produced more Wins Above Replacement than Price in 2016.

But this is still a premier lefty - the 2012 American League Cy Young Award winner with Tampa Bay. He has finished in the top six for the Cy Young four times.

Price is the major league leader in innings pitched since 2014. He threw 248 1/3 innings in 2014 followed by 220 1/3 and 230. He added 34 2/3 in the postseason those three seasons.

According to ESPN Stats & Information, Price leads all pitchers in batters faced (2,992) and pitches thrown (11,225) over the past three seasons, including the playoffs. Also, he posted career lows in average fastball velocity (92.8 mph) in 2016.

MLB innings leaders since 2014:
698 2/3 - David Price
677 1/3 - Max Scherzer
675 1/3 - Johnny Cueto
672 2/3 - Corey Kluber
662 1/3 - Madison Bumgarner

Among Orioles pitchers, Wade Miley ranks 27th in innings since 2014 at 561 and Tillman is 29th at 552 1/3.

Even without Price, the Red Sox could have a solid rotation with Chris Sale, Rick Porcello, Eduardo Rodriguez, Drew Pomeranz and Steven Wright.

But in a worst-case scenario - one where Price did need surgery - Price could be impacted for the next two seasons. Pitchers can return about 12 months after that surgery, but it can take 16-18 months before they are fully back with their full velocity and command.

Over/under numbers: The online sportsbook Bovada (Bovada.lv) has produced its list of over/under win totals for the 2017 major league season.

The Orioles rank fourth among AL East teams with an over/under mark of 80.5 wins, which ranks ninth among all AL teams and tied for 16th among all major league teams. Here's a look at the list from highest to lowest total:

Chicago Cubs - 95.5
Los Angeles Dodgers - 93.5
Boston Red Sox - 92.5
Cleveland Indians - 92.5
Washington Nationals - 90.5
Houston Astros - 89.5
New York Mets - 88.5
San Francisco Giants - 87.5
Seattle Mariners - 85.5
St. Louis Cardinals - 84.5
Texas Rangers - 84.5
Toronto Blue Jays - 84.5
Detroit Tigers - 82.5
New York Yankees - 82.5
Pittsburgh Pirates - 82.5
Baltimore Orioles - 80.5
Colorado Rockies - 80.5
Los Angeles Angels - 79.5
Arizona Diamondbacks - 77.5
Tampa Bay Rays - 77.5
Kansas City Royals - 76.5
Miami Marlins - 76.5
Minnesota Twins - 74.5
Atlanta Braves - 73.5
Oakland Athletics - 73.5
Philadelphia Phillies - 73.5
Cincinnati Reds - 70.5
Chicago White Sox - 69.5
Milwaukee Brewers - 69.5
San Diego Padres - 66.5

By the way, this list was released before the news about Price.

Streamlining replay: Major League Baseball announced some rules changes and tweaking yesterday. Among them were two involving video replays that seem much needed. The first will give managers a 30-second limit to challenge a call and ask for a replay. This will save time and managers can no longer wait around for as long as needed for their video staff to give the yes or no on a replay. In some cases, maybe many cases, they may have to make the decision without benefit of seeing any replays.

Another change states that with various exceptions, replay officials in the Replay Operations Center in New York will have two minutes to render a decision on a replay review. I heartily endorse this move. Too many replays took too long. Now MLB reports that the average review time was 1 minute, 36 seconds last year. I must have been at all the games that took longer than that. Replay needs to happen faster and these changes should make that happen. This should be good for both the times of the games and the pace of the games.