When the Red Sox signed starting pitcher Brayan Bello to a six-year, $55 million contract earlier this month, which
puts him under control through 2030, they made a significant advancement in their quest to assemble a core for the
future. Bello’s contract is noteworthy for the team’s long-term goals as well as the fact that it locked up its most
talented young starter for over five years. The decision-makers in Boston have talked about how important it is to
attempt to lock up young players to significant agreements early in their careers for years. Bello’s contract was only
the second that the team had signed a pre-arbitration player (with one to three years of service time) to an extension
since 2011, with Garrett Whitlock’s 2022 deal acting as the first.
Bello’s contract will likely be the first of many transactions of a similar nature if the Red Sox get their way. The
Boston Globe’s Alex Speier was informed just a week ago by team president and CEO Sam Kennedy that the team
was in “lots of conversations” with other players regarding extensions. Whether anything else is comparable is
unknown. It’s no secret that the Red Sox are making an effort, though, as there are just ten days until Opening Day,
when contract negotiations are often suspended to allow players to concentrate entirely on the season.
Although Triston Casas, the first baseman, is clearly the team’s top priority, it appears from Casas’s recent comments
as well as rumors circulating behind the scenes that nothing is close. Beyond him, the team’s youthful outfielders and
bright rotation/swingman prospects constitute “obvious” candidates for moves, according to a source with
knowledge of Boston’s thinking from last week. While other teams, like the Tigers (Colt Keith) and Brewers (Jackson
Chourio), extended top prospects who haven’t made their major league debuts over the winter, it’s unlikely that the
Red Sox will do the same with one of their top minor leaguers, like Marcelo Mayer, Roman Anthony, or Kyle Teel,
anytime soon
It has not been confirmed that the Red Sox had engaged any other young players, with the exception of Casas, who
had acknowledged having preliminary talks this winter, and righty Tanner Houck, who told WEEI’s Rob Bradford
that he has had some talks with the team as well. If so, it isn’t known to the public. MassLive polled the majority of
Boston’s best young players about talks in late February. Bello was the only player on the team to acknowledge
momentum at that point, as the most of them had not heard anything from themWho then has the potential to sign
an early extension, much like Bello did? Here are a few more pre-arbitration prospects that the Red Sox might be
interested in signing (arranged alphabetically).
Having only made 85 MLB plate appearances and never being a top-ranked prospect, Abreu doesn’t immediately
stand out as a top candidate for a contract. On the inside, though, the Red Sox still have a lot of expectations for the
24-year-old. The club’s intense efforts to trade Alex Verdugo over the winter were motivated by his antics. However,
if they hadn’t trusted someone like Abreu to take over in right field on a full-time basis, they most likely wouldn’t
have done so.
Abreu is not a free agent until after 2029. He signed with the Astros in July 2017 as an international free agent and
received a $300,000 signing bonus. However, the Red Sox might try to sign him quickly and at a low cost. The
acquisition would offer a lot of potential benefits for the team. Notably, Bello and Abreu are members of the same
agency.
The team’s top priority when it comes to pre-arbitration extensions is unquestionably Casas. The Red Sox believe
he’s a star and would want to sign him right away in order to try to avert a scenario such to the ones that recently
involved Mookie Betts and Xander Bogaerts. Casas is under team control through 2028 and has served more than a
year, but Tim Britton of The Athletic recently projected that if he signed now, he may get a seven-year, $77 million
extension.
The Red Sox’s initial bids have not succeeded thus far. Upon his arrival at the camp last month, Casas reported that
while some discussions had occurred, the club had provided “nothing enticing.” When asked what sort of
