Bello's signing a big step for Red Sox's future

This story was excerpted from Ian Browne’s Red Sox Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

When the Red Sox reached a six-year contract extension with Brayan Bello last week, it was a foundational move that could be a significant step in helping the franchise get back to the best version of itself.

Just about any successful organization not only develops premium talent, but secures it for as long as possible.

Bello is a success story for the entire organization, a right-hander who signed with Boston as an international free agent for just $28,000 in July 2017.

Through his hard work and the combined efforts of player development and the Major League staff, Bello became the type of pitcher the Red Sox wanted to extend long term.

This is a time of transition for the Red Sox, one in which they are building around a young core at the Major League level while an ultra-talented trio of Minor League position players could be within striking distance of Fenway Park.

Don’t forget that a year ago, Boston signed its most dangerous hitter -- third baseman Rafael Devers -- to a 10-year contract extension that kicks in at the beginning of the coming season.

Look for chief baseball officer Craig Breslow to turn his attention next to trying to get first baseman Triston Casas signed to a contract that will take him beyond his first eligibility for free agency.

It was interesting to hear Red Sox president/CEO Sam Kennedy admit last month that the club didn’t do the job it needed to in recent years to get homegrown players signed to extensions. It wasn’t just the dollars -- Kennedy said the team needed to develop better personal relationships with key young players.

That is something they did with Bello, and the organization is now eager to reap the rewards.

“I think it's a huge step forward for the organization,” said Hall of Famer and Red Sox icon Pedro Martinez. “I think the organization needed to do that. They needed to show the rest of the guys that are homegrown products that the Red Sox are committed to keeping their product. We had some bad experiences signing free agents and not allowing our Minor League system to develop in our own city.

“I just hope that we continue to do that for the young generation of players that are coming from the Boston organization. And I think it's a huge step, the fact that we have Bello, that we have guys like Casas that hopefully will also [sign] right along with Bello and start building the culture. I'm just hoping for us to continue to do those things that they have done with Bello.”

Securing Bello was a strong step in the early months of Breslow’s tenure as chief baseball officer.

“I think it’s tremendously important,” Breslow said. “And I think we strive to create the environment where players want to stay here, players who not only can thrive in Boston but want to spend significant time here in Boston. I think it becomes critically important to the success that we can have.”