Article: BREAKING: Roman Anthony Signs Eight-Year, $130 Million Contract Extension

[Nick John]

The Boston Red Sox continue to lock up their young talent as Roman Anthony has agreed to an eight-year, $130 million contract extension per Jeff Passan of ESPN.

 

Anthony, the former number one prospect in baseball, has been a key contributor for the Red Sox since his promotion back in early June, hitting .283/.400/.428 in 46 games. One of the best young talents in the game, Anthony is now locked in with Boston through at least the 2034 season. 

The contract also includes a club option and will begin in the 2026 season. While the deal is originally worth $130 million, it includes significant escalators that could nearly double the original value of the contract for Anthony up to $230 million.

With this contract, the Red Sox will buy out either three or four years of Anthony’s free agency, depending on where he finishes in the AL Rookie of the Year race. Should Anthony finish in the top two, the Red Sox may have won massively with this contract, as it would buy out four years of free agency instead of three.

Anthony has been a leader on the field since being called up in June and has been a key component of the Red Sox turnaround on the season. Since his promotion, the Red Sox have won 32 games and helped increase their record to 64-51, good for the top Wild Card spot and second in the AL East. There is no denying his impact and the Red Sox were wise to lock him up quickly.

Anthony is now the third contract extension completed by the team this season, joining Garrett Crochet and Kristian Campbell. The club option mentioned above is for the 2034 season which will be Anthony’s age-31 season.

Anthony, who was drafted in the second round of the 2022 draft, rose through the minor leagues, making it up to Triple-A Worcester less than two years after getting selected. He opened the 2025 season with Worcester despite a spring training where he showed he was ready for Boston. Instead of getting down on himself, he worked on a few minor things until the team felt he was ready. He was finally called following an injury to right fielder Wilyer Abreu a few months ago. Since then, Anthony has mainly played right field but has bounced between left field and designated hitter as well in an attempt to get everyone into the lineup. Despite the movement between the corner outfield positions, he has shown no issues handling either of them.

Since being promoted, Anthony has been not just one of the top players in Boston, but around the league based on his metrics. His bat speed, exit velocity and hard-hit rate of 74.4 mph, 94.1 mph and 58% respectively would all be near the top if he had enough at-bats to qualify. His chase rate and walk rates of 19.3% and 13.7% respectively would be near the top as well despite being just 21 years old. Showcasing a great understanding of the strike zone already, Anthony is poised to continue growing into an even brighter star once he starts to hit for a little more power. Case in point: FanGraphs has calculated that in his 46 career games, Anthony has already generated 1.6 WAR.

One thing is for certain with Boston these days: they want to keep their young stars in town for as long as they can. Between Anthony, Crochet and Campbell, the team has guaranteed $360 million to those three players, with it possibly going up to $500 million based on escalators and options between that trio.

The Red Sox are starting to resemble the team the front office promised for years.

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[TedYazPapiMookie]

Great team friendly contract.  Hopefully, as he performs, they consider redoing the deal because he looks like a Mookie-type player from the standpoint he could win a MVP in the next two years which would make this deal a horrible deal for him.

[Beaneater]

Let's gooooo!!!! 

[Tedballgame]

1 hour ago, TedYazPapiMookie said:

Great team friendly contract.  Hopefully, as he performs, they consider redoing the deal because he looks like a Mookie-type player from the standpoint he could win a MVP in the next two years which would make this deal a horrible deal for him.

It could be worth up to 230 million so if he performs well he will earn that. Do players that perform poorly (i.e. Carl Crawford or Pablo Sandoval) ever redo the contract to take less money???? NOOOOOO! The Red Sox are taking a risk and Anthony is guaranteeing himself to be rich beyond his wildest dreams. There won't be any renegotiating!

[TedYazPapiMookie]

13 hours ago, Tedballgame said:

It could be worth up to 230 million so if he performs well, he will earn that. Do players that perform poorly (i.e. Carl Crawford or Pablo Sandoval) ever redo the contract to take less money???? NOOOOOO! The Red Sox are taking a risk and Anthony is guaranteeing himself to be rich beyond his wildest dreams. There won't be any renegotiating!

I did a full comparison further down between Mookie and Anthony over their 7 years of control but what you are saying is correct.  If he's not close to Mookie in talent, it's a HUGE over pay.  On the other side of the coin, if he's better than Mookie and contracts continue to escalate over the next 4 seasons, his CASHFLOW which is significantly less than the CAP number per year will likely be very unsatisfactory if others get paid more traditionally and reach free agency.  What will a star OF in Free Agency be paid in 2030 when Anthony's cashflow finally exceeds the AAV he's costing the Red Sox?  He'll only be at $20 Million while FA OFers could be making double that.  Thus, if he's very good, I think renegotiations will be in the FO's future in 4 to 5 years, as crazy as that sounds now.

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

How does Anthony compare to Betts, except that both made the majors as 21-year-old outfielders for the Red Sox?

Did Mookie ever sign an extension in Boston? Can Roman bowl 300? Does he have a song named after him by A-Bliccy? Can he host a podcast and play shortstop in Hollywood at the same time?

Will Anthony ever be traded for Connor Wong???

[drewski6]

On 8/7/2025 at 12:26 PM, 5GoldGlovesOF,75 said:

How does Anthony compare to Betts, except that both made the majors as 21-year-old outfielders for the Red Sox?

Did Mookie ever sign an extension in Boston? Can Roman bowl 300? Does he have a song named after him by A-Bliccy? Can he host a podcast and play shortstop in Hollywood at the same time?

Will Anthony ever be traded for Connor Wong???

I didnt get the sense he was comparing the two as much as using Mookie as a barometer.  When does Romans contract expire? 29 years old.

Its not that different from him being 27 and wanting to get a deal done if hes still awesome before he is a free agent, kind of like you try to lock guys up while you still have control.

The point he made was inflation and its a good one.  Its very possible that 5 years from now, he is a top 5 OF in baseball with a contract that makes him the 42nd highest paid OF'er in baseball.

Its like when Celtics fans told me Jaylen Brown contract was a mistake because it made him highest paid NBA player. I said all you have to do is wait 1 year.  Same thing happened to Pat Mahomes.

If the deal becomes a bargain, and he really doesnt have to get much better for it to become a bargain (inflation will do the heavy lifting here), then it makes sense to extend him again before he becomes a free-agent at 29 and gets a 1.2 billion dollar from LAD

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

2 hours ago, drewski6 said:

I didnt get the sense he was comparing the two as much as using Mookie as a barometer.  When does Romans contract expire? 29 years old.

Its not that different from him being 27 and wanting to get a deal done if hes still awesome before he is a free agent, kind of like you try to lock guys up while you still have control.

The point he made was inflation and its a good one.  Its very possible that 5 years from now, he is a top 5 OF in baseball with a contract that makes him the 42nd highest paid OF'er in baseball.

Its like when Celtics fans told me Jaylen Brown contract was a mistake because it made him highest paid NBA player. I said all you have to do is wait 1 year.  Same thing happened to Pat Mahomes.

If the deal becomes a bargain, and he really doesnt have to get much better for it to become a bargain (inflation will do the heavy lifting here), then it makes sense to extend him again before he becomes a free-agent at 29 and gets a 1.2 billion dollar from LAD

The biggest difference is the Red Sox' perceptions of the two players from the get-go. Mookie was athletic but undersized, so wasn't drafted until the 5th round and the #172 pick. Roman had the size but still lasted until the 2nd round at pick #72.

Both rocketed through the Boston system, but when Betts had early success in the majors, the Sox chose to wait and see about trying to lock him up. In his first full season he earned 6 WAR at age 22.

It should be said right here that none of the Sox' current extended core have reached 6 WAR at any age... (though Crochet should, and maybe Ceddanne, if they stay healthy the rest of the season).

Boston loved a bargain with young Mookie, but at 23 he posted 9.8 WAR and finished 2nd for AL MVP -- and it was too late. His agent knew what he was worth, his mother knew what he worth, and he knew he should be paid like one of the top stars in the entire industry. Everyone did.

When the Sox offered Mookie $100 million, he knew he was worth $200 million. Later, when the Sox offered $200 million, he knew he was worth $300 million. Then he won MVP and the World Series, and led MLB with 10.7 WAR. When they finally offered him $300 mil, he was a better player than Bryce Harper, who signed with Philly for $330 mil.

Betts only just wanted market value, which was always at the top of the market when he was a Red Sox. They blew it, over and over again. They just made sure they wouldn't this time with Roman Anthony.

[drewski6]

8 minutes ago, 5GoldGlovesOF,75 said:

The biggest difference is the Red Sox' perceptions of the two players from the get-go. Mookie was athletic but undersized, so wasn't drafted until the 5th round and the #172 pick. Roman had the size but still lasted until the 2nd round at pick #72.

Both rocketed through the Boston system, but when Betts had early success in the majors, the Sox chose to wait and see about trying to lock him up. In his first full season he earned 6 WAR at age 22.

It should be said right here that none of the Sox' current extended core have reached 6 WAR at any age... (though Crochet should, and maybe Ceddanne, if they stay healthy the rest of the season).

Boston loved a bargain with young Mookie, but at 23 he posted 9.8 WAR and finished 2nd for AL MVP -- and it was too late. His agent knew what he was worth, his mother knew what he worth, and he knew he should be paid like one of the top stars in the entire industry. Everyone did.

When the Sox offered Mookie $100 million, he knew he was worth $200 million. Later, when the Sox offered $200 million, he knew he was worth $300 million. Then he won MVP and the World Series, and led MLB with 10.7 WAR. When they finally offered him $300 mil, he was a better player than Bryce Harper, who signed with Philly for $330 mil.

Betts only just wanted market value, which was always at the top of the market when he was a Red Sox. They blew it, over and over again. They just made sure they wouldn't this time with Roman Anthony.

Yeah, the two players dont have to be super similar - inflation is going to happen. That is the world. So if a dude is good enough, you may want to lock him up, get in before inflation.  Even free-agents.

My theory on the matter is that every so-often a new contract comes and sets a completely new standard for contracts.  Never down, always up.  I remember discussing w/ people saying we shouldnt pay that much for Swayman (Bruins goalie) and I said, once you sign him to a 7m/yr contract, everyone is going to start getting them, and then it will continue to go north from there.,  Players dont have to get better for their contracts to age well.  They just have to not crap the bed.  And after Swayman signed (I think he was the third goalie to break the 7m/yr barrier) - like 3 more got that money in 1 year.  Now he had an awful year, but the fact remains that there is a trickle up effect.

Soto would have never gotten so much money if Ohtani didnt.  And now there is no going back.  You want a top of the line stud? Who is proven. Already top 10 in the league.  The bidding starts at 600m.  Thats not coming back down.  Pretty much, once Ohtani signed, everyone who was worth a damn became great value on their current deal (even Devers, assuming his SF stats arent his new normal) because Ohtani reset the market.  And any contract signed prior to that became gold.  Ask anybody who has ever said "Im going to wait for the price of houses to come back down before I buy (myself included)".

I always go back to Beltre.  Everyone laughed when Beltre got 4 yrs at 16-18m.  Two years later, everybody was trying to trade for that contract.  Same player, its not like he broke out.  If anything he had declined because this was after his tenure here so he was getting up there.

My point is that Roman doesnt have to be Betts for that contract to age well.  Inflation will do the heavy lifting.  He just needs to be adequate, and he'll be a steal in a few years.  Because in a few years, todays top dollar will no longer be top dollar.  

[drewski6]

If contracts have been stagnant for 5 years or more, you should be signing everybody you can top long term deals.  Cuz thats what happens.  New contract completely shakes the market and everyone is like "too rich for my blood" and thats just copium.  Once Ohtani signed for 700m it was like yeah but deferred money, yeah but he pitches too, yeah but.... Yeah but nothing, Soto got a 700m contract and hes a lousy defender who doesnt pitch.  So you know whats next? 700m for non elite players. Then 1b for elite players. So on and so on.  And not only will it keep increasing, but the rate of which it is increasing is also increasing (that latter part may not be forever).

[moonslav59]

The new CBA, assuming there is one... LOL, could throw a wrench in the whole calculation of these sorts of signings.

I'm glad we have so many of our key young players locked up through pre and peak prime. None go beyond peak prime.

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

Good points by drewski about the trajectory of inflated contracts.

The second thing I predicted about Mookie -- besides leading baseball in WAR and rings for his first half decade after leaving Boston -- is that the Red Sox would soon sign someone who was not as good for more money... than they were willing to pay to a homegrown fan favorite first ballot Hall of Famer.

They did, and his name was Raffy.

[Maxbialystock]

1 hour ago, 5GoldGlovesOF,75 said:

Good points by drewski about the trajectory of inflated contracts.

The second thing I predicted about Mookie -- besides leading baseball in WAR and rings for his first half decade after leaving Boston -- is that the Red Sox would soon sign someone who was not as good for more money... than they were willing to pay to a homegrown fan favorite first ballot Hall of Famer.

They did, and his name was Raffy.

Mookie's cumulative WAR in 6 seasons with the Sox was 42.5.  With the Dodgers in 6 seasons so far it's 30.3.  Plus let's not forget that the Dodgers have a bigger payroll than the Sox because they simply make more money from attendance, TV, etc.  I believe that, whatever the Sox offered Mookie, the Dodgers were prepared to offer more.

Agree on Devers, but with one giant caveat.  That contract now belongs to the Giants. The Sox paid for 2 1/2 seasons out of 12 total.  The Giants pay for the other 9 1/2.  

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

8 minutes ago, Maxbialystock said:

Mookie's cumulative WAR in 6 seasons with the Sox was 42.5.  With the Dodgers in 6 seasons so far it's 30.3.  Plus let's not forget that the Dodgers have a bigger payroll than the Sox because they simply make more money from attendance, TV, etc.  I believe that, whatever the Sox offered Mookie, the Dodgers were prepared to offer more.

Agree on Devers, but with one giant caveat.  That contract now belongs to the Giants. The Sox paid for 2 1/2 seasons out of 12 total.  The Giants pay for the other 9 1/2.  

When the Sox gave Devers that contract, it's possible not even they expected if Raffy turned into a selfish diva that they could find another team to take on his entire remaining contract. 

But at least they got some pitching back, including Harrison, only recently baseball's top southpaw starting prospect... and now, indirectly, May (for Tibbs) -- ironically, one of the arms with potential Chaim Bloom should have insisted on receiving in the Mookie deal.

[Maxbialystock]

On 8/6/2025 at 12:39 PM, Nick John said:

The Boston Red Sox continue to lock up their young talent as Roman Anthony has agreed to an eight-year, $130 million contract extension per Jeff Passan of ESPN.

 

Anthony, the former number one prospect in baseball, has been a key contributor for the Red Sox since his promotion back in early June, hitting .283/.400/.428 in 46 games. One of the best young talents in the game, Anthony is now locked in with Boston through at least the 2034 season. 

The contract also includes a club option and will begin in the 2026 season. While the deal is originally worth $130 million, it includes significant escalators that could nearly double the original value of the contract for Anthony up to $230 million.

With this contract, the Red Sox will buy out either three or four years of Anthony’s free agency, depending on where he finishes in the AL Rookie of the Year race. Should Anthony finish in the top two, the Red Sox may have won massively with this contract, as it would buy out four years of free agency instead of three.

Anthony has been a leader on the field since being called up in June and has been a key component of the Red Sox turnaround on the season. Since his promotion, the Red Sox have won 32 games and helped increase their record to 64-51, good for the top Wild Card spot and second in the AL East. There is no denying his impact and the Red Sox were wise to lock him up quickly.

Anthony is now the third contract extension completed by the team this season, joining Garrett Crochet and Kristian Campbell. The club option mentioned above is for the 2034 season which will be Anthony’s age-31 season.

Anthony, who was drafted in the second round of the 2022 draft, rose through the minor leagues, making it up to Triple-A Worcester less than two years after getting selected. He opened the 2025 season with Worcester despite a spring training where he showed he was ready for Boston. Instead of getting down on himself, he worked on a few minor things until the team felt he was ready. He was finally called following an injury to right fielder Wilyer Abreu a few months ago. Since then, Anthony has mainly played right field but has bounced between left field and designated hitter as well in an attempt to get everyone into the lineup. Despite the movement between the corner outfield positions, he has shown no issues handling either of them.

Since being promoted, Anthony has been not just one of the top players in Boston, but around the league based on his metrics. His bat speed, exit velocity and hard-hit rate of 74.4 mph, 94.1 mph and 58% respectively would all be near the top if he had enough at-bats to qualify. His chase rate and walk rates of 19.3% and 13.7% respectively would be near the top as well despite being just 21 years old. Showcasing a great understanding of the strike zone already, Anthony is poised to continue growing into an even brighter star once he starts to hit for a little more power. Case in point: FanGraphs has calculated that in his 46 career games, Anthony has already generated 1.6 WAR.

One thing is for certain with Boston these days: they want to keep their young stars in town for as long as they can. Between Anthony, Crochet and Campbell, the team has guaranteed $360 million to those three players, with it possibly going up to $500 million based on escalators and options between that trio.

The Red Sox are starting to resemble the team the front office promised for years.

 

View full article

 

I must take umbrage with your final "The Red Sox are starting to resemble the team the front office promised for years."  There has rarely been a MLB, especially one that has finally, finally reached the amazing John Henry era (4 WS's vs the Yankees 1), who tells their fan base, "well, we're sort of rebuilding and also want to spend less on players, so, while we hope for a competitive team, don't count on it." 

John Henry was the key to the unsuccess of 2022-24, and he fixed it, we now see, by hiring his 5th CBO.  And that has not been without risks because Breslow had no prior experience as CBO and because John Henry remains reluctant to underwrite a top tier payroll.  

Breslow has definitely made some mistakes--so did DD--but overall he has used the system and players both DD and Chaim Bloom provided for him,  an increased budget that allowed him to go after Crochet, Chapman, and Breslow, and his own ability to identify talent.  

 

[moonslav59]

Henry's spending history has included several cut backs, although none lasted as long as the one that began in 2020. (2019 saw us not re-sign Kimbrel & Kelly and essentially add nobody, but the Sale & Nate extensions kicked in, making it look like we were spending more.) The drops were not as extreme, either, but he still cut back, usually right after a ring.

Opening day>EOY drops

'04>'05 -$4M & -$14M

'07>'08 -$10M & -$8M

'12>'13 -$21M & +$8M (trades to bring a ring)

'13>'14 +$2M & -$8M (mid season sell off)

'18>'19 +$3M (extensions) & -$2M

'19>'20 -$59M AAV adjusted for short season

'22>'23 -$25M & -$14M (The kick in the balz & sham)

'23>'24 -$10M & -$15M (The double kick sham)

It should not have been a surprise to see the +$23M uptick in the opening day budget from '24>'25, but the Devers sell off pretty much negated that.

 

[Bellhorn04]

Henry had me worried for a few years there, but he's back on his game.  

[moonslav59]

16 minutes ago, Bellhorn04 said:

Henry had me worried for a few years there, but he's back on his game.  

The Devers dump has renewed my worry, a bit, but I think he spends to the line or over, this coming winter.

That should be enough to help us be even better in 2026, but adding Wacha, Strahm & Hill did not work too well after 2021, so one never knows in this great game of baseball!

[Bellhorn04]

55 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

The Devers dump has renewed my worry, a bit, but I think he spends to the line or over, this coming winter.

That should be enough to help us be even better in 2026, but adding Wacha, Strahm & Hill did not work too well after 2021, so one never knows in this great game of baseball!

Henry and the front office deserve a lot of credit just for the long term deals with Crochet, Anthony, Rafaela, Bello and Campbell IMHO.

[moonslav59]

33 minutes ago, Bellhorn04 said:

Henry and the front office deserve a lot of credit just for the long term deals with Crochet, Anthony, Rafaela, Bello and Campbell IMHO.

Agreed, and this is something relatively new.

Previously, extensions were more for the Nate's, Sale's and Porcello's. (The Pedro extension from long ago might be the closest one I can think of- sorta like Crochet.)

[mvp 78]

On 8/9/2025 at 4:28 PM, Bellhorn04 said:

Henry had me worried for a few years there, but he's back on his game.  

He's over the 1st CBT right now. I think he was over the 2nd with Devers. We'll see how it shakes out next year with all the $$$ coming off the books. To me, winning is more important than payroll and 20, 22-24 were no fun. 

[Kimmi]

On 8/7/2025 at 12:26 PM, 5GoldGlovesOF,75 said:

How does Anthony compare to Betts, except that both made the majors as 21-year-old outfielders for the Red Sox?

Did Mookie ever sign an extension in Boston? Can Roman bowl 300? Does he have a song named after him by A-Bliccy? Can he host a podcast and play shortstop in Hollywood at the same time?

Will Anthony ever be traded for Connor Wong???

Anthony > Betts

Why?  Because Anthony chose to stay with the Red Sox and probably left some money on the table to do so.  Also, he gave a great answer as to why he signed the extension.

That said, Betts gets some brownie points for bowling a 300.

[drewski6]

On 8/9/2025 at 10:50 AM, 5GoldGlovesOF,75 said:

Good points by drewski about the trajectory of inflated contracts.

The second thing I predicted about Mookie -- besides leading baseball in WAR and rings for his first half decade after leaving Boston -- is that the Red Sox would soon sign someone who was not as good for more money... than they were willing to pay to a homegrown fan favorite first ballot Hall of Famer.

They did, and his name was Raffy.

It did feel like Raffy contract had a bit of cant let another betts happen, reactionary. I agree.

[SPLENDIDSPLINTER]

12 minutes ago, drewski6 said:

It did feel like Raffy contract had a bit of cant let another betts happen, reactionary. I agree.

Devers,being a one tool player, was born to be a DH. Betts,otoh, was a five tool player and was born to be inducted into the HOF 

[SPLENDIDSPLINTER]

On 8/7/2025 at 12:26 PM, 5GoldGlovesOF,75 said:

How does Anthony compare to Betts, except that both made the majors as 21-year-old outfielders for the Red Sox?

Did Mookie ever sign an extension in Boston? Can Roman bowl 300? Does he have a song named after him by A-Bliccy? Can he host a podcast and play shortstop in Hollywood at the same time?

Will Anthony ever be traded for Connor Wong???

Anthony will never be traded for Wong, because Wong and he are both on the same team 

[SPLENDIDSPLINTER]

7 minutes ago, SPLENDIDSPLINTER said:

Devers,being a one tool player, was born to be a DH. Betts,otoh, was a five tool player and was born to be inducted into the HOF 

The Sox may not have been able to keep Betts, but, arguably, they did get his best years.