Red Sox and outfielder Wilyer Abreu he had more speeches in the past few years, reports Tim Healey of The Boston Globe. “It wasn’t the right time to do it,” Abreu told the Globe. “So I just wanted to play and see what happens next time.”
The Sox have made several extensions since then Craig Breslow was hired as a baseball official in the fall of 2023. Brian Bello again Ceddanne Rafaela are signed through the 2024 season. A year later, Garrett Crochet again Kristian Campbell put pen to paper. In August 2025, Roman Anthony he made an eight-year deal. And in August, Aroldis Chapman he received a very modest extension, adding one more guaranteed year before he hits free agency.
Abreu arrived at the same time as Bello and Rafaela. At the time, Abreu only had 28 games under his belt. Star prospects can get big contracts even with less than a year of service time. Anthony received a $130MM guarantee, for example. Julio Rodríguez he got $210MM from the Mariners. Go Franco again Corbin Carroll and entered the nine-figure zone.
But Abreu wasn’t ranked as high as those guys, so he wasn’t going to get an offer at that level. He would probably be close to Rafaela, who received $49.3MM in new money. Campbell received about $59.2MM in new revenue the following year. Samuel Basallo He got $67MM from the Orioles as well Michael Harris II $72MM from Atlanta.
It is not known what the Sox offered. Whatever it was, Abreu decided to bet on himself instead. Since then, he has put together two solid seasons. He appeared in 247 games over the past two campaigns, hitting 37 home runs and stealing 14 bases. His combined batting line of .250/.320/.464 translated into a 113 wRC+, which was 13% better than league average. Add in some solid defensive grades and FanGraphs has him worth 5.5 wins over replacement over those two seasons.
He provided that number despite being mostly a solid team guy, with a career .205/.271/.318 line against remaining pitchers. The Sox expressed that they hope to play the southpaws again this year. Healey writes that Abreu spent the offseason working on getting better against the rest of the lineup, in addition to getting in the best shape of his life. Time will tell if Abreu can break into a new gear but he has already proven himself valuable.
That hasn’t led to a big paycheck yet. His service time is just north of two years, meaning he won’t be eligible for arbitration until after the 2026 season. He will be scheduled for three arb seasons and is on pace for free agency after 2029. As players approach the open market, they often gain more leverage, and that could be even more true for Abreu if he takes his performance to the next level. The two sides may be resuming extension talks but there doesn’t seem to be much steam there. “I can listen,” Abreu said, hoping the Sox will try again, “but I haven’t talked to them yet.”
Another guy the Sox tried to stretch a few years ago was the first baseman Places to stay in Triston Casasalthough nothing was done at that time. Since then, he’s been successful in a different way to Abreu, as he’s struggled a lot over the last few years. Back in 2023, he seemed to emerge as a legitimate threat, hitting 24 home runs and slashing .263/.367/.490 with a 131 wRC+. Torn cartilage in his ribcage limited him to 63 games in 2024. He got off to a rough start in 2025, hitting .182/.277/.303, before rupturing the patellar tendon in his left knee in May. He has been on the injured list all year and is still not 100%.
Casas spoke with MassLive’s Chris Cotillo about past negotiations, making his future focus clear. “I don’t regret the way I handled this situation at all,” said Casas. “At times when I didn’t agree with anything long term, I felt like I could go on the field and post an .850 OPS out of bed. I was confident that way, and I still think I’m that type of player. I didn’t think ’23 showed my best baseball, and it was still good. Now, I feel like my best baseball is still ahead of me.”
Despite his abilities, the Sox clearly felt they couldn’t count on Casas after a couple of injury-riddled years and his status still questionable heading into 2026. Wilson Contreras this winter to cover the first base.
That leaves Casas in an awkward position now, as he’s getting healthy but may not have a place when he’s ready. He hasn’t played in a game yet, but tells Cotillo he might do so on Opening Day for “workarounds,” which seems to suggest he might be in a minor position to rehabilitate the league when the rest of the team begins the regular season. The designated hitter spot is closed for now, and the Red Sox should get playing time from their outfield, which includes Abreu, Anthony, Rafaela, Jarren Duran again Masataka Yoshida.
Casas has options and could be kept in the minors after his rehab, but that would be a waste of his talents, considering how he has proven to be a capable middle hitter in the big leagues. A trade would make some sense but maybe the Sox don’t want to short sell Casas. A few injuries could change the calculus but it will be interesting to see how the Sox navigate the apparent logjam in the coming weeks and months.
Striker Brendan Rodgers is in camp on a minor league contract and looking to earn a roster spot but left today’s game with right shoulder soreness. “It hurts a lot right now,” Rodgers told MassLive’s Christopher Smith. “All the (strength) tests were really promising. … So just trying to be positive again, see how we feel tomorrow.” Rodgers says he is not scheduled to take pictures tonight. He had surgery on that shoulder back in 2019. He dislocated his left shoulder in 2023.
Rodgers is ready for the tough job of playing off the bench. He has been a subpar hitter throughout his career. He usually gets solid defensive grades but hasn’t played anywhere other than second base since 2021. Teams often need bench players to come in to provide more flexibility than that. Even with Romy González injury, the Sox have Isiah Kiner-Falefa, Andrew Monasterio, Anthony Seigler, Nate Eaton, Nick Sogard again Tsung-Che Cheng as healthy attackers in the lineup.
Photo courtesy of Raymond Carlin III, Imagn Images
