Red Sox Tried Making History With Roman Anthony Extension

If you have been following along with the Boston Red Sox this week, you likely know the club's blockbuster extension with Roman Anthony.

The 21-year-old outfielder has been dynamic since making his big league debut in June. Anthony was the No. 1 prospect in baseball for a reason and every time he steps up to the batter's box for Boston, he looks like a 10-year veteran rather than a rookie just about two months into his MLB career.

Boston is one of the hottest teams in the game right now -- despite a loss on Wednesday against the Kansas City Royals -- so much of the chatter around the team recently has been about that and a hopeful return to the postseason. There hadn't been much said recently about the possibility of a long-term extension with Anthony until ESPN's Jeff Passan dropped the news throughout the afternoon.

"Breaking: Outfielder Roman Anthony and the Boston Red Sox are finalizing an eight-year, $130 million contract extension, sources tell ESPN," Passan said. "The deal, which is pending a physical, includes a club option and will keep Anthony under team control through 2034."

Red Sox insider sheds light on unexpected Roman Anthony extension conversations

Jul 28, 2025; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Boston Red Sox left fielder Roman Anthony (19) hits an RBI single against the Minnesota Twins in the ninth inning at Target Field. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images | Bruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images

Now that that extension is out there, reports have started to pop up about what was going on behind the scenes. Alex Speier of the Boston Globe specifically talked about the deal and shared that there actually were three different offers made during Spring Training before Anthony had even made his big league debut yet that didn't work out.

"There had been a considerable gap in talks between the sides in spring training," Speier said. "Though the distance had narrowed over the course of three separate offers by the Sox, the conversations had never gotten close enough to a deal to produce true back-and-forth about a framework.

"There was no enmity — 'The main goal (of a long-term deal) had been the same,' Anthony said of the two sides’ positions — but there’d been comfort in the fact that Anthony would direct all his attention to the field in 2025. Then the Sox came back with a different proposal on Sunday."

That just shows how much faith the Boston front office has in this kid. There are few players in big league history who have landed long-term extensions before touching the field for a big league game. A few examples are Jackson Chourio of the Milwaukee Brewers, Luis Robert Jr. of the Chicago White Sox, and Colt Keith of the Detroit Tigers. Boston likes him enough that it at least tried to make something happen. It didn't work out in Spring Training, but that doesn't matter now. Anthony is here to stay.