Highly touted Boston Red Sox prospect Roman Anthony is surrounded by talk about the future.
The 20-year-old outfielder is expected to become a cornerstone piece of the franchise andĀ has some MLB analystsĀ believing heāll be a perennial MVP candidate. Itās easy to see why the Red Sox would want to lock in Anthonyās future before he even has an at-bat in the big leagues.
TheĀ Boston Globeās Alex Speier reportedĀ the Red Sox have āshown interest in discussing a long-term deal with Anthony this spring.ā Itās a rare move, but not an unprecedented one for a player of Anthonyās caliber. As Speier pointed out, the Milwaukee Brewers inked coveted prospect Jackson Chourio to an eight-year, $82 million deal before he even made it to the majors last season.
While Anthony could easily get lost in thoughts about his future, he is just trying to stay grounded in the present.
āI havenāt really thought about it much,ā Anthony told Speier about a potential contract extension. āHonestly for me, right now, thereās one goal and itās to make the team. Being out here with these guys and these resources, the last thing I want to do is have something take my mind off of that.ā
The financial security a long-term contract at this stage of Anthonyās career brings some appeal. He also expressed to Speier that he doesnāt āever want to leaveā the Red Sox organization. But Anthony, who isĀ considered the best position prospect in all of baseball, doesnāt appear to be in a rush at the moment to get an extension done.
If all the experts and pundits are right and Anthony blossoms into a superstar, he could cash in further down the road. So, waiting it out might be his best option.
āThereās a number for everyone. Everyone believes in themselves in different ways, and values themselves in different ways. I value myself very highly,ā Anthony said. āI want to be a Red Sox for as long as I can, but it would have to be something for me that was just an absolute no-brainer.
āOther than that, Iām just going to try and do it the good old-fashioned way and try and go out there and just get better every day and not worry about a paycheck. Minimum salary in the big leagues is a lot of damn money, and itās a lot of damn money to be able to play a kidās game for a living.
āThatās good enough for me. If something like (a long-term deal) were to happen, itād be a blessing. But Iām not really worried about it.ā