Roman Anthony’s unusual hand injury “flared” again Tuesday, according to Red Sox manager Chad Tracy, ultimately causing him to be pulled from Boston’s Wild Card Series opener in New York against the Yankees, and raising serious doubts about his availability for Wednesday’s Game 2.
Wednesday is win-or-go-home for the Red Sox, and Anthony’s injury appears to be the same ring-finger ligament that already cost the 22-year-old four months of his season.
But on Wednesday morning a report emerged that the Red Sox knew Anthony’s hand injury posed a risk well before first pitch in the Bronx. Boston utility infielder Andruw Monasterio said he’d been told before the game he might have to replace Anthony because of hand soreness, according to a Boston Globe report by reporter Alex Speier.
Ceddanne Rafaela and Jarren Duran also looked less than fully healthy, and Anthony was not made available to reporters afterward.
Anthony started as Boston’s designated hitter in the leadoff spot and struck out twice on check swings against Yankees starter Cam Schlittler. Then Tracy sent Monasterio to pinch hit for him in the sixth inning of what became a 9-0 rout.
“It got uncomfortable, so we had to make a move there,” Tracy said, according to Speier. The discomfort, Tracy added, was worse than the occasional episodes Anthony had felt with the hand since his return in late August.
Roman Anthony’s Hand Injury History
Anthony first hurt the hand May 4 on an awkward check swing in Detroit. What the Red Sox initially called a wrist sprain turned out to be a partial tear of the ligament at the carpometacarpal joint of his right ring finger, an injury so obscure that Dr. Mark Cohen, a prominent hand specialist, could find no precedent for it.
“I actually have never heard of a ring finger-isolated CMC ligament tear,” Cohen said, according to an earlier report by The Boston Globe.
Cohen pegged the typical healing window for a true ligament tear at eight to 12 weeks, though he stressed there was essentially no case history to draw from.
Anthony landed on the 10-day injured list May 7, was transferred to the 60-day list June 28, and did not return until Aug. 30 — an absence of 16 weeks and 101 games, after a rehab stint that took him through Portland and Worcester. In 25 games back, he hit .262 with four homers, evidence enough for the Sox to hand him the leadoff spot for the postseason.
This was not his first October setback, either. An oblique strain wiped out the final weeks of his 2025 rookie season and the entire three-game Wild Card Series last year, too.
Roman Anthony’s Status for Boston Red Sox Elimination Game
Anthony has become one of the sport’s most closely watched young hitters since debuting at 21 in June 2025, hitting .271 with 13 homers and an .804 OPS in 126 career games. The Red Sox signed him to an eight-year, $130 million extension last August, a deal that runs through 2033 with a club option for 2034, according to his contract details on Spotrac. Between the oblique strain and the ligament tear, Anthony has appeared in less than half of Boston’s games since his call-up, a brutal toll for a player central to the franchise’s hopes to contend for another World Series championship.
Tracy would not commit Anthony to Wednesday’s lineup immediately after Game 1, calling the situation difficult. Teammates spoke in blunt next-man-up terms, and Boston is already managing bumps and bruises up and down the roster. Game 2 begins Wednesday night at Yankee Stadium, with a loss ending Boston’s season. Game 3, if the Red Sox force it, would follow Thursday, and Anthony’s availability for either now hinges on how his puzzling, still-not-fully-understood injury responds to 24 more hours of rest.
What Did the Red Sox Know About Roman Anthony’s Hand Before the Yankees Game?