The Boston Red Sox have a lot of confidence in their "Big Three" prospects, and justifiably so, based on their minor league performances.
Roman Anthony, Kristian Campbell and Marcelo Mayer haven't reached the big leagues yet, but Boston has billed them as the future of its club for a few years. The Red Sox seem fully committed to the youth movement occurring with the club — maybe too committed.
Alex Speier of The Boston Globe reported that multiple sources have said the Red Sox have expressed interest in signing Anthony to a long-term deal this spring (subscription required). It's Anthony's dream to play in the big leagues and he's said he never wants to leave the Red Sox organization, but not even he's thought about signing a long-term contract yet.
“I haven’t really thought about it much,” Anthony said. “Honestly for me, right now, there’s one goal and it’s to make the team. Being out here with these guys and these resources, the last thing I want to do is have something take my mind off of that.”
Red Sox may be jumping the gun with potential Roman Anthony contract extension
Boston's front office may think the young Anthony will jump at any amount of guaranteed money for the long term, but the outfielder attested to Speier that he values himself highly. He's correct to do so, solely based on the hype around him so far, and the Red Sox know his contract price is only going up.
But there's no guarantee Anthony will make it to the big leagues and rake immediately or stick on the roster long-term. Prospects' professional trajectories are notoriously hard to predict, and the Red Sox know that well — Yoán Moncada, Andrew Benintendi, and plenty of other former top prospects haven't lived up to their hype from the minor leagues.
Since 2020 and the team's failed Mookie Betts trade, Boston has tried to win every deal, from trades to free agent signings and now, seemingly, even extensions with 21-year-old prospects. The Red Sox almost missed out on Alex Bregman because they played such a long waiting game this winter. Clearly, it worked in their favor, but Bregman shared in an interview on the "Section 10" podcast that he was mere minutes from signing elsewhere before he chose the Red Sox.
Winning every deal is impossible. Eventually, Boston is going to have to give up and pay players what they're worth if it hopes to compete with the Dodgers, Mets and other big-market teams, in the free agent market or otherwise. Anthony knows he could fetch quite the contract if he reaches the big leagues and performs as well as experts believe he will, and he's right to hold out on the Red Sox to do what's best for him.