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FORT MYERS, Fla. - Word continued to circulate throughout the Red Sox' clubhouse Thursday morning regarding news that Brayan Bello was close to signing a contract extension with the team.
So the next logical topic would be checking in on the other young potential star on the Sox who the club had shown an interest in committing to long-term - Triston Casas.
For the first baseman, however, there was nothing to report.
"I don’t know if they’re trying to finalize (Bello), but there have really been no talks, no developments, whatsoever," Casas told WEEI.com. "I haven’t heard anything from my agent or from the front office, so maybe they’re trying to put the finishing touches on his before they go further with anything else. But nothing so far."
Casas revealed earlier in spring training that the Red Sox had made a contract offer in the offseason, one which he deemed not worthy of agreeing to. (TIm Britton of The Athletic projected an extension for Casas might look like seven years, $77 million, maxing out at eight years, $103 million.)
He has long been tied to Bello as two of the logical building blocks for the Red Sox. The two, however, have not been in communication about their contract possibilities.
"No. Not at all," said Casas when asked if he has conferred with Bello. "I haven’t even discussed what he’s thinking in his mind or numbers or anything. I hope he can do really well if he finishes this off. But, no, we haven’t talked at all in terms of what he’s thinking or even comparisons.
"Everybody wants something different. Maybe he’s not looking for too much and he can get this done. But everybody has a different idea of what is a lot and what they need and it’s all relative terms. So I don’t want to ask anybody that is going to sway them one way or another. Whatever he needs and whatever he wants is going to be up to him and his family. Hopefully they can come to an agreement on something special."
The 24-year-old added, "I think Brayan himself would say he has more to prove to feel like he can earn that amount of money, but I think that’s where I am as well. I think I need to go out and prove for another year and another year after that and the rest of my career I’m worth that amount of money. I’m not focused on any amount of money or anything else other than go out there and play hard."