Rafael Devers contract makes Braves look even better with Austin Riley

The Atlanta Braves look all the wiser after looking at the contract extension the Boston Red Sox gave Rafael Devers.

The Boston Red Sox didn’t exactly make their fanbase very happy throughout this offseason. Specifically, they were unable to give shortstop Xander Bogaerts an acceptable contract offer. Then, after negotiating with him at the MLB Winter Meetings, the San Diego Padres swooped in with an 11-year, $280 million contract extension. Bogaerts accepted.

For the Red Sox, they found a way to prevent another one of their homegrown talents from leaving. On Wednesday, the Red Sox and third baseman Rafael Devers agreed to terms on an 11-year, $331 million contract extension. This came one day after both sides avoided arbitration with a one-year, $17.5 million contract.

This deal makes the Atlanta Braves look all the wiser by securing their star third baseman, Austin Riley, much earlier.

Braves look even smarter after Rafael Devers contract extension

The Braves have shown in recent years that they’re not afraid to lock in their young players to long-term contracts. That’s evident with the contracts they gave outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr., starting pitcher Spencer Strider, and center fielder Michael Harris II. One of the big contract extensions the Braves did was signing Riley.

The third baseman was not eligible to hit free agency until after the 2025 season. General managr Alex Anthopoulos decided in 2022 that it was time to ensure Riley would not get close to the open market. So, they successfully negotiated a 10-year, $212 million contract extension.

That was quite the win for Atlanta. Just take a look at the players they have under club control for the foreseeable future, courtesy of ESPN’s Jeff Passan.

This past season, Riley recorded a .273 batting average, a .349 on-base percentage, a .528 slugging percentage, 38 home runs, 93 RBI, 168 hits, and a league-high 368 total bases in 159 games played.

While Red Sox fans are breathing a sigh of relief that the team was able to re-sign Devers just before he hit free agency, the Braves made sure it never got that close by agreeing to terms with Riley despite having three more seasons of arbitration remaining.