Never say never. But don’t hold your breath. That’s the message from the Boston Red Sox when it concerns the return of injured rookie stud Roman Anthony.
The 21-year-old remains sidelined while recovering from the left oblique strain which landed him on the injured list earlier month. At the time, the club warned it would be a four-to-six week recovery, meaning Anthony might not be back in the lineup until the American League Championship Series, if the Red Sox can make it that far.
Nothing chief baseball officer Craig Breslow said Tuesday indicates anything has changed with Anthony’s timeline.
“This is an injury that we knew is going to take some time to heal and for him to get back on the field,” Breslow said, according to the Boston Globe’s Tim Healey. “He and the medical staff are working as hard as they can to accelerate the timeline to the extent possible.
“Being around him a little bit, you can see he’s getting more comfortable,” Breslow continued. “When it first happened, you could look at him and tell that he was in quite a bit of discomfort and pain. That has subsided. But there’s still quite a bit of room to get to in terms of baseball activity.”
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Anthony was on his way to contending for the American League Rookie of the Year award when he went down. His final regular-season stats tease Red Sox Nation with what could have been: a .292 batting average with eight home runs, 32 RBIs and 40 walks. Anthony posted a .396 on-base percentage and .859 OPS.
Despite playing just 71 games, Anthony has a 3.1 WAR for this season, which is sixth among Red Sox position players.
The good news is the Red Sox’s decision to sign Anthony to that eight-year, $130 million contract looks like it should pay dividends in 2026 and beyond.
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Featured image via James A. Pittman/Imagn Images
