The Red Sox front office recently took big steps toward stabilizing the future core of the franchise.
Boston worked out a long-term extension with ace Brayan Bello in the lead-up to Opening Day and followed suit with the versatile Ceddanne Rafaela on Wednesday. Both deals strayed from the norm a bit, as neither player had significant Major League Baseball experience under their belt before landing their respective extensions.
On paper, the next youngster who would be a candidate for a new deal would be Triston Casas, who's coming off his first full season in Boston. While the Red Sox very well might be keen on having Casas man first base at Fenway Park for years to come, remarks from Craig Breslow on Wednesday indicated an extension isn't imminent.
"Impossible to handicap perfectly what the chances are of getting another deal across the line," Breslow told reporters, per WEEI. "I would say, I don't see anything as particularly close right now. And I do think it makes sense at some point to focus on the season and give players some clarity around what they're trying to accomplish every day and give us a chance to kind of assess more broadly what we're trying to accomplish, what our vision is. So I wouldn't ever say never, but I think it's unlikely."
Story continues below advertisement
Those remarks shouldn't be perceived as any sort of strain in the relationship between Casas and Red Sox execs. Speaking with Rob Bradford on Wednesday, Casas made it clear he "loves" the organization and wants to play in Boston for a "long time." But the 24-year-old clearly is very focused on having a successful sophomore season, as he informed his team not to keep him abreast of contract negotiations at this time.
It's also easy to understand why Casas isn't stressing about his contract situation. The 2018 first-round pick is a very confident player who works hard at his craft. Even though his tenure as a big leaguer still is in its infancy, he seems to know contracts will take care of themselves if the performance is there.
Featured image via David Butler II/USA TODAY Sports Images
