Contract Extension Already? Roman Anthony Weighs Long-Term Red Sox Future

Highly touted Boston Red Sox prospect Roman Anthony is surrounded by talk about the future.

The 20-year-old outfielder is expected to become a cornerstone piece of the franchise and has some MLB analysts believing he’ll be a perennial MVP candidate. It’s easy to see why the Red Sox would want to lock in Anthony’s future before he even has an at-bat in the big leagues.

The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier reported the Red Sox have “shown interest in discussing a long-term deal with Anthony this spring.” It’s a rare move, but not an unprecedented one for a player of Anthony’s caliber. As Speier pointed out, the Milwaukee Brewers inked coveted prospect Jackson Chourio to an eight-year, $82 million deal before he even made it to the majors last season.

While Anthony could easily get lost in thoughts about his future, he is just trying to stay grounded in the present.

“I haven’t really thought about it much,” Anthony told Speier about a potential contract extension. “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.”

The financial security of a long-term contract at this stage of Anthony’s career brings some appeal. He also expressed to Speier that he doesn’t “ever want to leave” the Red Sox organization. But Anthony, who is considered the best position prospect in all of baseball, doesn’t appear to be in a rush at the moment to get an extension done.

If all the experts and pundits are right and Anthony blossoms into a superstar, he could cash in further down the road. So, waiting it out might be his best option.

“There’s a number for everyone. Everyone believes in themselves in different ways, and values themselves in different ways. I value myself very highly,” Anthony said. “I want to be a Red Sox for as long as I can, but it would have to be something for me that was just an absolute no-brainer.

“Other than that, I’m just going to try and do it the good old-fashioned way and try and go out there and just get better every day and not worry about a paycheck. Minimum salary in the big leagues is a lot of damn money, and it’s a lot of damn money to be able to play a kid’s game for a living.

“That’s good enough for me. If something like (a long-term deal) were to happen, it’d be a blessing. But I’m not really worried about it.”