Wilyer Abreu has been on a roll to start 2025 after a strong rookie campaign. Even though the Red Sox have a wealth of outfield talent in their organization, he has been a bright spot on a team that hasn’t had quite the start they had hoped for and appears to have cemented his position in right field.
He’s slashing so far. 175 OPS+ and 306/.427/.532. He has three homers, five doubles, 12 RBIs and 13 walks. He has also demonstrated his defensive abilities, most notably last week when he made an incredible throw to hit Cardinals third baseman Lars Nootbaar.
Abreu might have negotiated an extension early in 2025 after being brought up a lot during trade negotiations this summer. He might be next in line, considering the Red Sox have already granted extensions to start the season. They haven’t yet asked Abreu for an extension, according to a recent rumor, but that might change if he keeps putting up impressive numbers.
Wilyer Abreu’s hot start to 2025 season could be fuel for Red Sox extension
Abreu is a strong contender for a new contract because of his outstanding play and the Red Sox’s recent tendency to offer extensions. Boston is demonstrating that it is prepared to pay whatever it takes to retain youthful talent by signing long-term contracts with Kristian Campbell and Garrett Crochet.
Given that Abreu is unlikely to maintain an OPS of close to 1.000 for the duration of a season, the Red Sox may want to hold off on giving him a bigger sample size. The fact that the Sox have so many players vying for outfield playing time makes things even more difficult. One of the current outfielders will probably have to leave the lineup when Roman Anthony makes his debut. That most likely won’t be Abreu at this time, but it’s unclear if he can keep up his present rate.
Should Abreu be granted an extension, it would probably fall within Campbell’s range. Although Abreu is older and has more experience than Campbell, the Sox aren’t expecting as much from him, so the contract would probably be shorter—perhaps five or six years.
The Red Sox will probably wait to see how sustainable his play is, but Abreu is content with that as he has stated that he is trying to keep his mind off his contract situation and is staying calm.
