Red Sox lock up Ceddanne Rafaela with collection of young stars: Contract details, grade

The Boston Red Sox have been (rightfully) ridiculed for their refusal to spend money like the big-market team that they are. Despite being the Boston Red Sox, they have just the 11th-highest payroll according to Spotrac, and are getting outspent by virtually every other big-market team.

While their refusal to spend money in free agency has been incredibly frustrating, the Red Sox proved that they do have money at their disposal as they gave Brayan Bello, one of their few bright spots in their rotation, a long-term extension. They showed they could spend once again by inking Ceddanne Rafaela to an extension on Monday.

MassLive's Chris Cotillo reported that the extension was agreed to and MLB.com's Mark Feinsand was first with the terms of the deal. Spoiler alert: it's a steal for the Sox.

Grading Ceddanne Rafaela's extension with the Red Sox

It's an eight-year deal worth $50 million. That's it. The Red Sox keep a player they deem to be a core part of their future for the next eight years at just $50 million total. Wow.

There's obviously some risk that comes with signing a player who enters play on Monday with 124 MLB plate appearances in his career to an eight-year extension, but this extension pays him $6.25 million in AAV. That's peanuts, especially for a team that, contrary to John Henry's belief, is a major market team with the ability to spend hundreds of millions in payroll.

There's a bit of risk, but the chance of reward far exceeds that when the AAV is $6.25 million. Rafaela is the No. 4 prospect in Boston's system and the No. 71 prospect on MLB Pipeline's Top 100 list. Not only that, but he's already an everyday player for them at the MLB level despite being just 23 years old.

Not only is Rafaela an elite defender with the ability to play the outfield and both middle infield positions, but he has tremendous speed and showed a good amount of power in the minors.

What this deal essentially does is it buys out all of his arbitration years and a couple of his free agency years. Instead of hitting the open market after the 2029 campaign, Rafaela will be a free agent after 2031 when he'll be 31 years old. Not a bad deal for him at all as he gets $50 million upfront as a cushion and can really cash in if he breaks out in the next eight years, but this deal is still an utter steal for Boston.

The Red Sox get Rafaela for most if not his entire prime without having to deal with him into his mid-30s. Even if he is the next Rusney Castillo and this deal ages extremely poorly, what do the Red Sox lose? The AAV is spectacularly low. By doing this now before he breaks out at the MLB level, they get him at that extreme discount. Had they waited for him to get more established, Rafaela would either demand much more in an extension or not even entertain one.

The Red Sox believe he's a key member of their future, and this deal shows that. They haven't done much to earn the faith and respect of the Red Sox faithful, but even the most frustrated Red Sox fans can't hate on this deal.

Grade: A