It’s no coincidence that the turnaround for the Red Sox this season happened to come just around the time rookie outfielder Roman Anthony–the top prospect in MLB in the past two years–arrived in Boston. The Red Sox were 32-36 after Anthony made his debut in early June, but since then, they’ve been one of the best teams in baseball, at 46-26.
There have been other reasons, of course. The pitching of Nos. 2 and 3 starters Brayan Bello and Lucas Giolito have been factors, as well as the shut-down performance from closer Aroldis Chapman this season. Trading away Rafael Devers improved team chemistry, getting Alex Bregman back from an injury has been big and the comeback of shortstop Trevor Story has been one of the more underrated tales of this season anywhere in the game.
But Anthony has been the shining light, the rookie who batted .291 with an .861 OPS in his first 70 games as a big-leaguer, despite an initial slump when he arrived from Worcester.
Now, one of the worst bits of news that could hit Red Sox Nation ahead of the 2025 stretch run has come down: Anthony is hurt.
Roman Anthony Injured His Oblique
It appeared that Anthony pulled a muscle in his back during a strikeout in the bottom of the fourth inning in Boston’s 11-7 win over the Guardians on Tuesday. He clutched his back during the at-bat after a checked swing, and grabbed at it again after the final pitch of the at-bat. Anthony went right to the locker room after it happened.
Red Sox manager Alex Cora spoke on the injury after the game.
“Left oblique tightness, he will have an MRI tomorrow,” Cora said. “So we’ll know more during the day.”
Asked how Anthony was feeling, Cora said, “Sore. He’s sore.”
How Long Will Roman Anthony Miss?
According to a post from sports medicine doctor Jesse Morse:
“Best case scenario this is a mild tweak and not a true grade 1 strain. The oblique muscles are used to twist, and are the counter-force to rotation. Usually the weaker side the opposite to the strong side (in this case his right) are injured. Since this was his power side, let’s hope this is just a tweak and not a true strain.
“If he indeed did strain them, then these take 2-3 weeks to return. If he just tweaked them and the tissue is not strained (on ultrasound or MRI), then he likely gets a couple days off.”
Red Sox Will Miss Their Star Rookie
Anthony was none too happy to have to deal with an injury at this point in his otherwise magical rookie season. He said it is more painful than the back injury he dealt with earlier this season, and added that it was an entirely new injury.
“Felt it today on the checked swing on the pitch before I swung and missed for a strikeout so, yeah, pretty sudden,” Anthony said.
Anthony said he has never had an oblique problem before, and that he is not sure what his concern level is on the injury–he echoed Cora in saying he’d have to wait until after the MRI. But he said, “Anytime I’m not out there, I’m pretty pissed off. It sucks.”
Red Sox Make Concerning Roman Anthony Injury Announcement