Red Sox’s Future Looks Even Brighter After Roman Anthony Extension

For the last several years, the Boston Red Sox have been building towards the future. They drafted well, restocked their farm system and reined in their spending on free agents, all in the name of building a sustainable winner.

This year, the Red Sox are finally starting to see the fruits of their labor. They’re young, exciting and playing their best baseball in years, seemingly poised to make the playoffs for the first time since 2021.

Thanks to its talented core, Boston is built to win now and in the future. Roman Anthony, Marcelo Mayer, Carlos Narváez, Kristian Campbell, Ceddanne Rafaela, Wilyer Abreau, Triston Casas, Garrett Crochet and Brayan Bello are all in their age-26 season or younger.

This is an ascendant team that should only get better. If it does, it has the potential to dominate the rest of this decade and the start of the next one.

Unlike previous regimes, Craig Breslow’s front office has wisely started locking up many of the Red Sox’s young stars with contract extensions, investing in them and committing to their future.

Since becoming Boston’s chief baseball officer in late 2023, Breslow has extended Bello through 2029, Crochet through 2031, Rafaela through 2032, and Campbell and Anthony through 2034.

Accordingly, the Red Sox don’t have to worry about losing many of their best players to free agency anytime soon. Barring trades, many of them will be roaming Fenway Park for the foreseeable future.

Boston still has some work to do on this front, as Mayer could use an extension as well. However, it’s a great start and a clear improvement over how previous stars like Jon Lester, Mookie Betts and Xander Bogaerts were handled.

With so many core pieces already locked up, the Red Sox have set themselves up to contend for years to come, starting with this one.