Roman Anthony didn’t duck the Marcelo Mayer question. He leaned into it.
With Mayer now headed to the San Francisco Giants and Anthony working his way back from injury, the former Red Sox prospect duo could end up sharing Fenway Park again soon - this time on opposite sides. Before Tuesday’s game at Hadlock Field, Anthony said the move hit him hard, but he also saw the upside for his longtime teammate.
“Obviously, Marcelo hit a little different. I came up with him and lived with him every day.
He was my roommate since I was 18, 19 years old," Anthony told reporters, including the Worcester Telegram & Gazette's Tommy Cassell. "Seeing him go, I was excited for him to kind of get a new opportunity, almost like a refresh.
To be back close to home, I think it will be good for him. Hopefully get to see him come to Boston.
That would be pretty cool, right?
"But you know, I was sad. Obviously spoke to him, still speak to him quite a bit.
Hope all goes well for him always. The friendship or the relationship when guys get traded, it doesn't really change.
I have a lot of friends that have gotten traded along the way, and a lot of great people that I still talk to and see on a consistent basis."
Boston dealt Mayer, the No. 4 overall pick in the 2021 MLB Draft, to San Francisco before the Aug. 3 deadline in exchange for left-handed reliever Erik Miller and outfield prospect Carlos Gutierrez. Mayer had hit .223 with a .625 OPS in 114 games with the Red Sox, and injuries kept interrupting his run in the organization. A forearm issue has sidelined him since June 25.
Anthony’s own return is getting underway now. A partially torn tendon in his right ring finger has kept him out since May 4, and he is set to begin a rehab assignment with the Double-A Portland Sea Dogs on Tuesday.
He’ll bat second and serve as the designated hitter, with first pitch at Hadlock Field scheduled for 6 p.m. ET.
The two climbed through Boston’s system together and both reached the majors in 2025, with Mayer debuting on May 24 and Anthony following on June 9. Neither has matched the sky-high expectations that followed them through the minors. Anthony flashed in 71 games as a rookie before a season-ending oblique strain, then hit just .229 with one homer and a .675 OPS in 30 games this season before the finger injury.
Now Mayer gets a reset in San Francisco, where he’ll try to revive the comparisons to former Giants All-Star shortstop Brandon Crawford that followed him after the draft. And if the timing works out, there’s a real chance the Red Sox and Giants will see their old teammates square off at Fenway Park when the clubs open a three-game series Friday night.
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