Red Sox Announce Roman Anthony Decision Before Crucial Yankees Series

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The Red Sox announced a Roman Anthony decision ahead of their crucial series against the rival New York Yankees.

Roman Anthony will remain on his Worcester rehab assignment through Saturday, keeping the Boston Red Sox top outfield prospect out of both games of Saturday’s crucial doubleheader against the New York Yankees.

The delay extends a rehab stint that has already outlasted most expectations, leaving Boston with no firm date for when its $130 million outfielder finally rejoins the lineup.

WooSox acting manager Iggy Suarez confirmed Friday that Anthony, along with Trevor Story and Isiah Kiner-Falefa, will “be here” in Worcester on Saturday rather than traveling to the Bronx. That leaves Sunday, or Monday’s Fenway Park opener against the Seattle Mariners, as the earliest realistic landing spots for his activation.

Roman Anthony’s Extended Rehab Timeline

Anthony has not played a major league game since May 4 in Detroit, when a check-swing left him with what the Red Sox initially called a right wrist sprain. Doctors later revised the diagnosis to a partial tear of a ligament in his right ring finger, an injury orthopedist Dr. Mark Cohen called essentially unprecedented in 32 years of practice, according to NESN.

Boston moved Anthony from the 10-day injured list to the 60-day version on June 28, a paperwork shift to free a roster spot. He suffered multiple setbacks after trying to resume swinging in late May and wasn’t pain-free while attempting swings until late July, pushing his rehab into a stretch at Double-A Portland on August 18 before he graduated to Worcester a week later.

Through seven rehab games, Anthony is hitting .304 with two doubles, two home runs and seven RBIs. His Worcester debut on Aug. 25 included a two-run homer with an exit velocity reported north of 106 mph.

He has not hidden his frustration with how long the recovery has dragged.

“I did everything I could,” Anthony said, earlier this week, as quoted by the New York Post. “I took all the shots I could, as soon as I could. Unfortunately, maybe we pushed too hard. … I saw three outside doctors that told me this was a three-month injury. After it all, it took right about that much.”

No Firm Date for Roman Anthony’s Boston Red Sox Return

“There’s no plan,” Anthony said Tuesday in Worcester. “There’s no, ‘You’ve got to be ready by this time.’ There’s no flight that’s booked or anything like that. It’s all about how I respond and how I feel.”

He struck a more forward-looking tone earlier in the week, telling the Boston Globe that last week was about “feeling it out” and getting his body back into playing shape.

“I’m to a point now where, week two, I’m looking forward to getting back into a big league game as soon as possible,” he said, as quoted by the Globe.

The 22-year-old signed an eight-year, $130 million extension in August 2025 during a rookie season in which he hit .292 with eight home runs across 71 games before an oblique strain ended his year in September. This marks the first extended injury absence of Anthony’s career, and Boston has offered no target date beyond ruling him out of the first three games of the four-game Yankees series.

Anthony described the isolation of his Florida rehab stint bluntly, saying the Fort Myers stretch “sucks for sure,” adding that being back with a team, even in the minors, “made me appreciate being back up here.”

Boston enters the Yankees series still chasing an American League playoff spot, and every day without Anthony’s bat leaves the outfield picture unsettled heading into September. The Fenway homestand against Seattle now looms as the most likely stage for his season debut, assuming no further setbacks arise between now and then.

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