The Red Sox were thrust into an awkward situation on Monday when, just a few moments before their series with the Royals was slated to begin, outfielder Roman Anthony tweaked a muscle in his back. That forced Boston to throw Wilyer Abreu into the lineup against a left-handed pitcher, not the most comfortable of circumstances for him.
Yet Abreu came through with two hits, a walk, a run scored and an RBI in the Red Sox’s opening win over Kansas City. Abreu bats just .220 against lefties but he answered the bell.
The bigger concern was over Anthony. Red Sox manager Alex Cora downplayed the injury, but given the way Anthony has hit over the past six weeks, any injury to the team’s prized rookie is cause for concern.
Roman Anthony ‘Could Have Started’
Indeed, Anthony was again out on Tuesday in the second game against the Royals. But Cora dispelled any concerns, announcing that Anthony would be back for the series finale on Wednesday–and that he probably could have played on Tuesday.
Anthony is available to pinch-hit.
“He’s doing OK,” Cora said Tuesday, via MassLive. “If I wanted to, he could have started. But stay away from him one more day. If we use him later, we use him later. But hopefully we don’t. And he’ll start tomorrow.”
Anthony is currently batting .283 with a .400 on-base percentage and a .428 slugging mark. In his last 25 games, Anthony is hitting .348, with a .468 OBP and a .506 slugging percentage.
Red Sox Cautious With Young Star
When he was asked about the injury on Monday, Anthony said he was caught off guard.
“Everything felt normal all day and I felt something as I was stretching on the line,” he said. “Just figured we’d be cautious with it and was super uncomfortable. I relayed that quickly and we decided we were going to shut it down.”
He already was on the mend by late Monday night.
“I’ll get with the training staff and figure that out, but I’m already definitely trending in the right direction and feeling better than it was earlier,” Anthony said.
Red Sox DFA Jorge Alcala
On the downside on Tuesday, the Red Sox decided to designate flamethrowing reliever Jorge Alcala for assignment. Boston could keep Alcala and send him to Worcester if he clears waivers, but because he often hits 97 mph with his fastball and has a variety of breaking pitches, it would be surprising if another team does not claim him.
The Red Sox called up Isaiah Campbell from Worcester to replace him.
Boston had acquired Alcala in a trade with the Twins after he struggled in Minnesota. Alcala posted an 8.88 ERA with the Twins and though the number was better with the Red Sox (3.31), he had not earned the trust of Cora. Allowing three runs in 0.2 innings on Monday sapped the team’s patience with him.
Campbell made one relief appearance for the Red Sox in July and allowed two runs in 2.0 innings. He had a 6-6 record with a 4.17 ERA for Boston in Triple A this season.
Red Sox Reveal Roman Anthony Injury Return Plan