Red Sox’s Roman Anthony Makes Definitive Statement on Contract

If there has been a pattern that has developed around the Red Sox‘s handling of young players in the past two years, it’s that they’re more than willing to put forth extension offers that keep them out of arbitration and give their top prospects some early financial stability.

Whether it’s wise can be debated, but Boston has paid out extensions in the past two years for Brayan Bello (six years, $55 million), Ceddanne Rafaela (eight years, $50 million) and Kristian Campbell (eight years, $60 million),  contracts that have lengthy guarantees, but still come relatively cheap.

Rafaela is an average hitter but one of the best centerfielders in the league, while Bello has been a passable back-end option in the rotation. Campbell was a gamble for the Red Sox this spring and after a hot start that made the contract look brilliant, he has since been demoted back to Triple A.

All of that is context for what the team might seek to do with the No. 1 prospect in baseball, outfielder Roman Anthony, whose arrival with the Red Sox this month came with much fanfare and is only recently beginning to show results. Anthony would certainly make sense as an early extension candidate–but he says he’s heard nothing on that front.

Red Sox Could Sign Roman Anthony to a Long Deal

Talking to reporters on Sunday before the Red Sox closed their series with the Blue Jays, Anthony said, “No, not at all. I haven’t heard a peep from anyone about anything.”

That may not be too much of a surprise, because Anthony’s ceiling is such that his representation likely does not want to begin talking about an extension until he starts producing on the field. If he eventually gets going at the big-league level the way he did in the minors in the past two years–.309 with a .940 OPS in 93 games at Triple A–Anthony will be in line for a mega-contract.

But there’s no telling whether he will hit to that standard. That’s where his focus is now.

“I think right now the goal is pretty clear for me, it’s to worry about showing up every day and doing what I have to do here in order to help this team win,” he said. “There haven’t been any talks of that and I think credit to the Red Sox for kind of letting me go out and play, but no, there hasn’t been anything.”