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Red Sox slugger has hit 37 HRs since declining contract extension originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
In recent years, the Boston Red Sox have gotten some early contract extensions done.
Wilyer Abreu was not one of those guys, even though there was apparently interest.
The Boston Globe's Tim Healey reported in a new article that the Red Sox had extension talks with Abreu two years ago.
Abreu wasn't interested at the time.
"It wasn't the right moment to do it," he told Healey. "So I just wanted to play and see what happened in the future."
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Abreu has played 247 games since declining the extension, hitting 37 home runs in that span with an OPS of .784.
He's also a great defensive right fielder with a cannon for a left arm.
Abreu, at this point, will have to wait to really cash in on his skills, though.
He won't be arbitration eligible for the first time until the end of the 2026 season, which means he isn't slated for free agency since 2029.
An extension for Abreu now would look different than it did a couple years ago, but he also might have less incentive to go after that at this moment, now that he's proven to himself that he can play in the big leagues.
The Red Sox gave $49.3 million in new money when they extended Ceddanne Rafaela, and $59.2 million for Kristian Campbell last year.
Could Abreu settle for a number like that? It's not clear he would, and it doesn't sound like there are talks ongoing, anyway.
It's just fascinating to know that Abreu bet on himself a couple offseasons ago, and now it'll be fun to see if it pays off.
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