Since taking over as chief baseball officer, Craig Breslow has helped turn the Boston Red Sox into a team of long-term homegrown players (and some trade targets). He extended Brayan Bello, Ceddanne Rafaela, Kristian Campbell, Roman Anthony and Garrett Crochet before their prime to keep them in Boston for the best years of their careers.
Breslow hasn't extended anyone this season, but that doesn't mean there haven't been any good options. Wilyer Abreu is en-route to his third consecutive Gold Glove, which is extra-special given the difficulty of Fenway Park's pastures. Rookies Jake Bennett and Payton Tolle have asserted themselves as fixtures of the rotation and earned a vote of confidence.
Tolle already has an extension on his mind, though the Red Sox have not approached him about signing one, according to Alex Speier of The Boston Globe (subscription required). His love for the city of Boston could inspire him to sign, if approached.
“Boston is a baseball city. I love that people get the game,” said Tolle, via Speier. “You feel like you have the whole city behind you. It’s special, something that not a lot of places get. I love it. Right now, there’s no other place I’d want to pitch... For [Roman Anthony], being able to be here for the next seven years, eight, that’s pretty cool. We’re calling Boston home right now for however long they want me to call it home.”
Red Sox should rush to sign Payton Tolle to extension he's hoping for
As long as the Red Sox are still extending some of their young stars, Tolle has earned consideration for a long-term spot on the team. The 23-year-old has posted a 2.97 ERA, 1.06 WHIP and 128 strikeouts over 115 innings this season. His strikeout (27.8) and walk percentages (6.7) rank in the 84th and 77th percentiles, respectively. He boasts elite, 98th-percentile extension, a favorite trait of Breslow's.
It also helps that Fenway loves Tolle as much as he loves it. Red Sox fans have embraced the towering lefty for his big personality, quotable interviews and massive presence on the mound and in the dugout. Tolle's hollering after a big strikeout and dugout celebrations for his teammates have absolutely earned him fan-favorite status in short order and the Red Sox shouldn't be quick to let that go (though he still has many years of team control on his contract).
Tolle's attitude and style of play make him an ideal fit in Boston. Those two factors also raise his value. If Breslow hopes to add another young K-machine to his rotation for the next many years to come, he should get to Tolle before he has too many more 14-strikeout nights.
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