Braden Ramsey

It's safe to say Craig Breslow rolls to the beat of his own drum. He had seen enough from Rafael Devers to make the unpopular decision to trade him away, much to the chagrin of Red Sox fans everywhere. Turns out, he has also seen enough of Roman Anthony to know the young outfielder belongs in Boston long-term. Early Wednesday afternoon, ESPN's Jeff Passan reported the Red Sox and Anthony had agreed to an eight-year, $130 million contract extension. Anthony was already under team control through 2031, but this deal will keep him in Boston through at least 2034. According to Passan, Anthony could collect as much as $230 million over the contract's life span. Anthony, 21, has excelled at the MLB level after a rough opening stretch. The former No. 1 prospect recorded an OPS of just .416 through his first nine games, but has posted a .910 OPS in 37 contests since then. Per FanGraphs, Anthony's wRC+ (155) from June 20 -- the start of that 37 game sample -- to Aug. 5 is, among qualified hitters, the 14th-best in baseball. Breslow has made a habit of extending Boston's young talent early in their professional careers. And, like each of those contracts, Anthony's deal does carry some risk. The Red Sox would have more short-term financial flexibility if they had allowed him to play out his first few seasons at low, pre-arbitration costs. But ridding themselves of Devers' contract provided plenty of wiggle room in the present. Locking in Anthony at a potential bargain for the next decade accomplishes the same for the future. Extensions like Roman Anthony's are becoming more popular It used to be rare for a player to earn a new contract in the early months of their baseball career. Most front offices -- owners, if we're speaking candidly -- don't want to shell out money unless it's absolutely necessary. Savvy general managers, though, have started getting ahead of the curve. Instead of kicking the can and risking a player's departure, they're signing them sooner and keeping them longer. This practice has become particularly common for outfielders. Since 2023, six outfielders age-22 or younger -- including Anthony -- have inked contracts that, at minimum, have bought out their arbitration years. From 2019-22, only Ronald Acuna Jr. and Luis Robert Jr. received such treatment PLAYER AGE CONTRACT AAV MLB PA START 162 G bWAR AVG./PACE Julio Rodriguez 21 12 YR./$209.3 M $17.4 M 458 (108 G) 2023 6.2 Jackson Merrill 21 9 YR./$135 M $15.0 M 616 (162 G) 2026 4.3 Roman Anthony 21 8 YR./$130 M $16.3 M 190 (46 G) 2026 6.4 Corbin Carroll 22 8 YR./$111 M $13.9 M 115 (32 G) 2023 4.7 Ronald Acuna Jr. 21 8 YR./$100 M $12.5 M 505 (115 G) 2019 5.9 Jackson Chourio 19 8 YR./$82 M $10.3 M 0 (0 G) 2024 3.9 Michael Harris II 22 8 YR./$72 M $9.0 M 268 (71 G) 2023 4.4 Luis Robert Jr. 22 6 YR./$50 M $8.3 M 0 (0 G) 2022 4.5 (*Age and MLB PA are at time of signing. **162 G bWAR AVG./PACE is over MLB career through Aug. 5, 2025.) Anthony ranks third amongst his peers in total contract value. He slots second in salary, trailing only Julio Rodriguez, who won American League Rookie of the Year in 2022 before getting paid. His extension most closely mirrors that of Arizona Diamondbacks right fielder Corbin Carroll. The D-Backs aren't fretting over Carroll's payday; Boston shouldn't be worried about Anthony's, either. Roman Anthony's extension gives Boston a peachy long-term outlook Julio Rodriguez posted 6.2 bWAR (and 5.7 fWAR) in 132 games as a rookie. Through his first four seasons, he's averaging essentially 5.0 WAR per year by each metric. He's on a Hall of Fame-level trajectory. Anthony, by virtue of not debuting until June 9, won't reach Rodriguez's rookie marks. But he is producing at a similar pace at the same age, which is hard to fathom. If Anthony were a six-WAR per-year player over his contract's duration, he'd fly into Cooperstown. Is he likely to be that great year in and year out? Probably not. But he doesn't need to be to make his contract worthwhile. The widely acknowledged dollar value of one WAR is $8 million. In 2025, Anthony has been worth 1.8 bWAR and 1.6 fWAR, respectively. In other words, FanGraphs says Anthony's production -- through 46 games -- has been worthy of $12.7 million. To justify a $16.3 million salary, Anthony only needs to be a slightly better than two-WAR player. If he's in the lineup every day through the end of the 2025 regular season, it's possible he'll reach 3.0 WAR. In 90 games. As a rookie. You don't need to be an analytical guru to realize that's good. Yes, it's a small sample. But Anthony has demonstrated himself to be a quality, well-rounded baseball player. He has been amongst the league's best hitters for six weeks. At the same time, he has been a borderline top-20 outfield defender, per Baseball Savant. He could provide 1.0-2.0 WAR on defense alone some seasons. If he does, and continues hitting at this clip, he'll win multiple MVP awards. Bottom line? Anthony's deal, with a player of his caliber, is one you make 100% of the time. And Boston's World Series window should be open for the foreseeable future because of it. 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