On June 9, the Boston Red Sox appeared destined for yet another season of mediocrity, their fourth in a row — and fifth in the last six — without getting to the playoffs. That was the day they called up their No. 1 prospect, who was also ranked as the top prospect in all of baseball, 21-year-old Roman Anthony.
About two months later, Anthony signed an eight-year, $130 million contract extension with the Red Sox.
Slightly less than a month after that, Anthony was named American League Rookie of the Month for August.
Unfortunately, on Wednesday, the Red Sox also made a considerably more downbeat announcement about Anthony. The prodigious young prospect was headed to the injured list, and according to the timeline stated by manager Alex Cora, would miss the remainder of the 2025 season — and most if not all of the postseason as well, if Boston is still able to qualify.
Anthony to Miss Remainder of Regular Season, At Least
Heading into Wednesday’s game against the Cleveland Guardians, with Boston going for a three-game sweep at Fenway Park, the Red Sox had won three in a row and 10 of their last 13 games to pull within 2 1/2 games of first place in the AL East, and more importantly, six games clear of the Texas Rangers in the race for an AL Wild Card Spot with 22 games remaining to play.
But they will have to play those 22 without Anthony, who according to Cora will hit the injured list thanks to a strained left oblique muscle. In an interview on the Boston radio station WEEI, Cora said that Anthony will need from four to six weeks of recovery time.
Anthony suffered the injury on a check swing in the fourth inning of Tuesday’s game against Cleveland, which ended as an 11-7 Red Sox victory.
Some Chance Rookie Star Could return For Playoffs
Based on Cora’s timeline, the absolute earliest Anthony could return would be September 30, which is scheduled as the first day the Wild Card best two-of-three playoff series. But in all likelihood he will need longer to recover.
The full six week period would take Anthony into the middle of the American League Championship series — if the Red Sox somehow get there, or if they are even able to hold on to a playoff spot at all in Anthony’s absence.
How much difference has Anthony made?
The Red Sox season did not instantly turn around the day Anthony joined the club from Triple-A Worceter, but that may have been because the 2022 second-round draft pick out of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, took a couple of weeks to adjust to the big leagues. He went 6-47 in his first 16 games, a batting average of just .128.
Dramatic Red Sox Turnaround With Anthony in Lineup
And then everything clicked into place. On June 28, Anthony recorded three hits — the first of his 24 multi-hit games as a rookie — in a 15-1 Red Sox win over the Toronto Blue Jays. And there was no looking back.
Since breaking out of his post-promotion slump, Anthony has hammered out 69 hits in 210 at-bats, a .329 batting average. Since the All-Star break, he has posted an OPS of .917 over 40 games.
On the day Anthony rapped his three hits against the Blue Jays the Red Sox sat at 41-43, in fourth place and seven gamed behind the then-division-leading New York Yankees.
It is certainly not a coincidence, then, that starting on that day, the Red Sox have gone 38-19 and are now 16 games over .500 at 78-62. That is why Red Sox veteran, two-time World Series champion third baseman Alex Bregman called Anthony’s injury a “gut punch” to the team.
Though Anthony is an outfielder, the Red Sox were expected to call up Triple-A infielder Nick Sogard to take Anthony’s place on the roster.
Red Sox Grim Announcement Seals Fate of $130 Million Rookie