A former MLB general manager and insider is in shock that the Boston Red Sox were able to convince stud rookie Roman Anthony to sign an eight-year extension on Wednesday.
In his first 46 games in the big leagues, Anthony has made a big slash as a part of Boston’s impressive resurgence into a playoff contender this summer. Since July 1, the 21-year-old has posted a slash line of .330/.444/.485/.929 with 10 doubles, and 161 wRC+. Numbers similar to or even better than what current stars and legends like Fernando Tatis, Jr., Juan Soto, and Albert Pujols were able to do at the same age.
- Roman Anthony stats: .283 AVG, .400 OBP, .428 SLG, .828 OPS, 2 HR, 19 RBI, 27 R
That is why the club didn’t wait a few more seasons for him to prove his MLB talent, and talk about an extension then. They trusted the information they had on him since drafting him in the second round of the 2022 MLB Draft. And gave him a massive eight-year, $130 million deal this week.
The signing was met with a huge amount of praise from Red Sox fans. Because if Anthony evolves into the perennial All-Star they believe he can be, then they’ll be paying him just over $16 million annually for some big seasons. While the move was loved by Sox fans, The Athletic’s MLB insider Jim Bowden thinks the outfielder made a boneheaded mistake by putting pen to paper on the deal so early in his career.
“I cannot believe Roman Anthony left that much money on the table,” said Bowden during an appearance on “The Foul Territory Show.” “I’m actually in a state of shock. I don’t understand how you can sit there and watch Ronald Acuna Jr. and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and not see the difference between the two? Right now, in the bank, Vladimir Guerrero is guaranteed $570.8 million in earnings. Ronald Acuna Jr., a similar talent who should be paid similarly, has $100 million.
“So there’s a difference of $470 million. And Roman Anthony just signed a Ronald Acuna deal. Acuna got eight years, $100 million. Anthony’s doing eight years, $130 million. And I understand. If you’re 21 years old, I understand it’s really hard to turn down $130 million,” he added. “I also understand that he’ll be a free agent again at 29. And he’ll have a chance to get $700 million or $800 million deal by then. The last two years of this deal alone, he left at least $100 million on the table.”
- Roman Anthony contract: Eight years, $130 million
Boston had an underwhelming showing before last week’s trade deadline. And has made few major free agent additions in recent years. However, Anthony joins Bryan Bello and Tristan Campbell as homegrown talents with big upside that the team has locked up long-term on very team-friendly deals.
