Craig Breslow had another busy week after the trade deadline, signing Roman Anthony to a long-term extension on Wednesday.
The Boston Red Sox signed Anthony to an eight-year deal with an extra club option. If the organization has its way, the rookie outfielder will develop into a franchise cornerstone throughout that contract.
Breslow discussed the deal during Friday’s “MLB Now.” Boston’s chief baseball officer explained how the extension came about to MLB Network host Brian Kenny.
“These conversations, they last a while. They start early. We’ve had some conversations going back to the offseason and tabled them heading into the season,” Breslow said. “Wanted to make sure that we weren’t going to be a distraction, and it was not going to be something that took Roman’s attention away from the field because, obviously, the team is playing really good baseball right now.
“But after the trade deadline had come and passed, wanted to try to make one last aggressive offer and see if we could get something done. Credit to Roman and his family and his representatives that we were able to work through this really quickly with only a minor distraction to what was happening on the field.”
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Breslow’s motivation to lock down Anthony stemmed beyond the 21-year-old’s early success. His off-field presence played a significant role in Boston rewarding Anthony with a major stamp of confidence.
“Ultimately, this is a bet on a person,” Breslow continued. “And everything we know about Roman is, he’s got this incredible maturity. He’s got a devotion to winning, to improving every year. He’s got an incredible personality and work ethic … We’re confident that this is an investment that’s well worth it. Not just because of what we’re seeing on the field, but because the way he carries himself and the way we know he’ll represent this organization.”
Anthony has also earned praise from his teammates and manager Alex Cora following his payday. The former top prospect will spend his 20s in Boston, but he can now focus on steering the Red Sox to his first MLB postseason.
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