Boston Red Sox Announce Roman Anthony Decision Before Yankees Series

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BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - SEPTEMBER 23: Roman Anthony #19 of the Boston Red Sox stands on deck in the first inning against the Cleveland Guardians at Fenway Park on September 23, 2026 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Jaiden Tripi/Getty Images)

The Boston Red Sox are set to open their Wild Card Series on Tuesday night in the Bronx as they take on the New York Yankees.

It’ll be a best-of-three series, with the games played across Tuesday, Wednesday and, if necessary, Thursday, with a trip to the ALDS at stake.

For the Red Sox, they’ll send out 23-year-old left-handed pitcher Payton Tolle as the starter, while the Yankees will throw right-handed ace and AL Cy Young favorite Cam Schlittler.

Ahead of the matchup, Red Sox manager Chad Tracy officially revealed the team’s starting lineup as they’ll try to bust the door down against Schlittler, who has dominated Boston over his five career starts against the Red Sox.

Red Sox Announce Roman Anthony Decision

For Boston, there may not be a more important player to find some rhythm in their lineup than leadoff hitter Roman Anthony.

Tracy won’t mess around with his spot in the order Tuesday night, but Anthony will begin the series slotted as the designated hitter instead of playing left field. That creates an opportunity for Jarren Duran to step into left, while Ceddanne Rafaela will be in center and Wilyer Abreu will be in right.

Here’s the full Red Sox lineup:

Via Underdog MLB: “Red Sox 9/29 R. Anthony DH A. Rutschman C W. Contreras 1B W. Abreu RF C. Rafaela CF N. Sogard 2B J. Duran LF T. Story SS C. Durbin 3B P. Tolle SP.”

Red Sox 9/29

R. Anthony DH
A. Rutschman C
W. Contreras 1B
W. Abreu RF
C. Rafaela CF
N. Sogard 2B
J. Duran LF
T. Story SS
C. Durbin 3B

P. Tolle SP

— Underdog MLB (@UnderdogMLB) September 29, 2026

Looking at Anthony’s 2026 Season

In his second year in the majors, Anthony’s season hasn’t gone exactly as planned, mainly because a wrist injury kept him sidelined for nearly four months and ultimately caused him to miss more than 100 games this year.

However, when he did play, especially down the stretch of the season, he found some success.

He’s appeared in 55 games and enters the postseason hitting .245 with 24 runs, 52 hits, five home runs, and 15 RBIs, while slugging .396 with a .735 OPS.