When Kristian Campbell made the Opening Day roster, the Red Sox quickly picked up discussions that led to an eight-year, $60 million contract extension within a matter of days.
Have the Red Sox taken a similar approach with Roman Anthony? Asked prior to Sunday’s game, the top prospect told the Herald that there have been no contract talks since he made his MLB debut two weeks ago.
“No, not at all. I haven’t heard a peep from anyone about anything,” Anthony said. “I think right now the goal is pretty clear for me, it’s to worry about showing up every day and doing what I have to do here in order to help this team win. There haven’t been any talks of that and I think credit to the Red Sox for kind of letting me go out and play, but no, there hasn’t been anything.”
Ranked as MLB’s No. 1 prospect by MLB Pipeline, Baseball America and most other major outlets, Anthony is expected to develop into a future All-Star and a potential franchise cornerstone. The Red Sox haven’t been shy about expressing their confidence in Anthony and his importance to the organization, but while the club has made a point to try and extend more of their young players in recent years, that is something the player ultimately has to agree to as well.
Would Anthony be open to a long-term extension at this stage in his career?
“I think it’s a matter of how it looks and how it works on both ends, but obviously for me and my family and my agency, knowing this is a place I came up through and yeah, I would love to play here for sure,” Anthony said. “But at the same time understanding and trusting who I am as a baseball player and how much I believe in myself.
“But yeah, obviously I’d be open to that but as far as numbers or anything like that, I don’t really know, I don’t know where we’re at,” he continued. “Like I said, I’m focused on finishing this year out and continuing to learn and get better every day, and we’ll go from there.”
Since making his MLB debut against the Tampa Bay Rays on June 9, Anthony’s first two weeks in the majors have been a mixed bag. The rookie entered Sunday batting .170 with one home run and a .633 OPS through his first 17 games, but he’s already made considerable strides after a difficult first week.
Over his last eight games entering Sunday he was batting .269 with four doubles, an .847 OPS and nearly as many walks (7) as strikeouts (8). Red Sox manager Alex Cora has also given Anthony a notable vote of confidence, regularly batting the rookie near the top of the order, including second on Sunday against a left-hander.
“It’s a good at bat. He’s not chasing pitches, he gets deep into counts, he’s been hitting the ball hard,” Cora said. “I truly believe, yeah, I hate rushing guys into spots but with him the quality of the at bat is different than others, and that’s the reason he’s hitting up there.”
Anthony said he’s enjoyed his time in the majors so far and that he’s finally been able to settle down recently after a hectic first week. He said getting away to the west coast helped a lot and that his teammates and coaches have made it easy to adjust, and he’s also grateful to Cora and the team for the opportunities he’s gotten already.
“They trust me, I trust them, so it’s been great and I’m looking forward to continuing to help this team win,” Anthony said.
Originally Published:
