The Boston Red Sox have made a miraculous mid-season comeback from the gutter of the American League to a playoff spot.
They’ve done much of this without one of their young building blocks, Roman Anthony. Now, Anthony is close to returning to Boston. But it didn’t come without some drama.
Anthony spoke to MassLive’s Chris Cotillo and seemed to insinuate that the Red Sox training staff pushed him too hard.
There was much discussion about how long Anthony would be out, with the organization pushing back against criticism. We now have another piece of the puzzle as to why Anthony was out for so long.
What Did Boston Red Sox Star Roman Anthony Say?
Anthony opened up about his injury and the process he went through to get healthy. He made it clear he did everything possible to return quickly, but may have been pushed too hard by the Red Sox training staff.
“I did everything I could,” Anthony said. “Thought I made that clear. I took all the (injections) I could, as soon as I could. I tried to do everything to get back on the field. Unfortunately, maybe we pushed too hard. Every time I tried to do that, it may have set me back a little bit. But at the same time, I saw three outside doctors who told me this was a three-month injury. After it all, it took right about that much.”
From Anthony’s comments, he could’ve had a setback from being pushed too hard with the injury. In addition, Anthony said that the three doctors he saw had similar timelines for the injury.
Because Boston never said that publicly, Anthony was thought to have a less severe injury.
While Boston was certainly in the wrong for the lack of communication with the media and fanbase, this has certainly been a saga.
What’s Next for Anthony and the Team?
A common thought has placed Anthony back in the outfield, with Jarren Duran relegated to the bench.
While Duran is in the throes of one of the worst offensive seasons in the majors right now, he is still a plus defender. With +5 Outs Above Average this season, according to Baseball Savant, he is in the 90th percentile.
The likely outcome of this should be putting Anthony at designated hitter amid Masataka Yoshida’s injury.
While Anthony’s bat is too good to keep out of the lineup when healthy, Duran’s glove is too good as well.
It’s been a long time anyway since Anthony has been on the field. He hasn’t played in a major league game since May 4 and looked lost when he was on the field. Anthony could likely use some time to get reacclimated to the game.
The Red Sox will soon be getting back one of the top young bats in the game.
Red Sox Roman Anthony Seemingly Criticizes Training Staff Amid Return