The Boston Red Sox open a three-game series against American League East rivals the Toronto Blue Jays Tuesday at Fenway Park.
After losing six of their last nine games to fall 11 games below .500, Boston desperately needs to sweep the series against the Blue Jays.
But the Red Sox continue to be without injured star Roman Anthony, who according to the latest updates has no timetable for his return.
Anthony’s prolonged absence comes less than a full year on MLB service time into an eight-year contract extension the Red Sox gave the 22-year-old. That means the Red Sox still owe their injured player a staggering financial commitment that shapes the club’s roster outlook and long-term payroll flexibility.
Boston signed the young outfielder to an eight-year, $130 million extension in August 2025. The deal comes with a $16.25 million average annual value and a maximum of $230 million through escalators, according to contract figures tracked by Spotrac. Only a sliver of the 2026 salary has been paid.
That means the Red Sox still owe Anthony approximately $128.5 million, including about $1 million remaining in prorated salary for 2026.
Roman Anthony’s Rare Injury Has Red Sox Guessing
Anthony has not swung a bat since May 4, when an awkward check swing against the Detroit Tigers left him with a partial tear of the ligament in his right ring finger, at the carpometacarpal joint that connects the hand to the wrist. The Red Sox called it a right wrist sprain when they placed him on the injured list May 7, but that designation undersold the highly unusual nature of the injury.
“I’ve been doing this 32 years. I actually have never heard of a ring finger-isolated CMC ligament tear,” said hand specialist Dr. Mark Cohen of Midwest Orthopaedics at Rush University, as quoted by the Boston Globe‘s Alex Speier. Search for references to that type of injury, Cohen told Speier, and you find almost nothing.
A mid-May cortisone shot let Anthony throw pain-free. Then he tried to swing, two weeks after the injury, and the pain came back. Six weeks in, he still cannot hit off a tee.
“It doesn’t hurt when I’m walking around, or it doesn’t hurt me to throw a baseball,” Anthony said, according to Speier. “But the minute I do certain weird things and turn my steering wheel a certain way … then I’m like, ‘Oh [shoot], there it is.’ It’s just a weird injury.”
Cohen put the usual window for a true ligament tear at eight to 12 weeks.
A left oblique strain ended Anthony’s 2025 season on Sept. 3. Counting both shutdowns, the young star has played just 101 of a possible 188 regular-season games since his big-league debut last June, missing 46 percent of all available games. And that doesn’t include the Red Sox postseason play last year.
Roman Anthony’s Deal Among Boston’s Biggest Bets
Anthony’s $130 million guarantee trails only Garrett Crochet’s $170 million extension and Trevor Story’s $140 million free-agent deal among current Boston commitments, the team’s full Spotrac ledger shows. Boston bet big on a then-21-year-old with two months in the majors.
Of the players with the top three largest Red Sox contracts, none are currently playing. Crochet (shoulder) and Story (groin) both remain on the team’s ESPN injury report, Crochet until at least after the All-Star break, Story likely out for the season.
Anthony’s contract, like all MLB contracts, is fully guaranteed, so he gets paid whether he plays or not.
Anthony, a second-round pick out of Parkland’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in 2022, climbed from a $2.5 million over-slot signee to Baseball America‘s No. 1 overall prospect by September 2024. He reached the majors June 9, 2025, the youngest Red Sox player since Rafael Devers, then hit .292 with a .396 on-base percentage before the oblique ended his rookie year.
For now, Boston waits. So does Anthony.
“I’m doing everything I can in terms of recovery, sleep, and all the things that go into [recovery]. … I’ve just got to let the body do its thing,” Anthony told The Globe. “It’s just been slower than I imagined.”
Boston Red Sox Still Owe Injured Star $128.5 Million