Roman Anthony’s recovery has become one of the more puzzling storylines hanging over a Red Sox season that keeps rolling along without him.
Boston has been winning anyway. Wilyer Abreu, Willson Contreras, and a hot supporting cast have helped keep the club above .500, but the player fans were most eager to see coming into the year has now spent 2 1/2 months on the injured list with no clear finish line.
The latest update came Sunday from manager Chad Tracy at Fenway Park, where he said Anthony still was not swinging in Fort Myers at the team’s spring training complex. According to Alex Speier of The Boston Globe, the goal now is for the 22-year-old to get to the point where he is pain free before the ramp-up begins again.
That was not the kind of news Red Sox fans were hoping to hear, and their reaction online made that pretty clear. The messaging around the injury has frustrated plenty of people, and the finger ligament issue has turned out to be much slower and trickier than anyone wanted.
This is a long way from the early days after the injury, when Boston was still holding out hope that Anthony might avoid the injured list altogether. Since then, the updates have followed a familiar pattern: a little progress, then another note that dry swings are not going well.
Anthony was sent to Fort Myers earlier this month to continue rehab after already landing on the 60-day injured list, and that move has only reinforced the sense that this could be a long wait. It is still reasonable to think he will be back at some point this regular season, but it would be a mistake to treat that as a sure thing.
For now, the Red Sox are getting by without him. But the season has become a frustrating one around Anthony’s injury, and the uncertainty keeps growing with each passing update.
In Other News...
Red Sox Suddenly Face A Risky Deadline Reunion Debate
The Red Sox have spent much of this season looking like a club that can pitch with anyone, which is why they remain in the playoff race and why any deadline conversation now comes with a little more ambition attached. Even so, the next few weeks could force Boston to think beyond simple bullpen depth or a modest bench upgrade, especially if San Diego decides to explore ways to reshape its roster and move a veteran name with real familiarity in Boston.
Any reunion talk would come with plenty of baggage, starting with the long-term money still attached and the question of whether the player would even be willing to sign off on a move. From the Red Sox perspective, the appeal is obvious: a chance to add a proven bat to a team trying to hold its place in the race. But the real intrigue is whether Boston would be willing to get pulled into a bigger deal if the Padres also made a premium late-inning arm part of the conversation. [Read more 🡒]
Orioles Lose A Key Piece As Red Sox Series Suddenly Shifts
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Baltimore filled the roster spot by bringing up Chadwick Tromp from Triple-A Norfolk, a move that at least gives the Orioles another catching option as they navigate the next stretch. For Boston, the timing matters too, because a series that looked like a test against one of the American Leagues steadier clubs suddenly looks a little different with a key Orioles regular unavailable. [Read more 🡒]
Red Sox Trade Idea Sparks Familiar Catcher Debate
The catcher market always gets complicated when a team is trying to balance present need against future value, and that is why Jim Bowdens latest trade idea is the kind of proposal that catches the eye. The concept centers on a 26-year-old backstop who has already shown real middle-of-the-order production, with 30 homers, a .886 OPS, 2.6 bWAR and two All-Star selections giving him a profile that is easy to understand for a contender and just as easy to covet for a club looking to reshape its roster.
For Boston, the appeal is obvious enough: a catcher who can help now and perhaps change the shape of the lineup. For Colorado, the question is whether a possible sell-off at the deadline could turn one premium bat into a wider return of pitching and position-player talent, including a mix of big league and upper-minors pieces. It is the familiar kind of debate that follows any aggressive deadline idea, where the fit makes sense on paper but the real challenge is deciding how much certainty a team is willing to give up for one player. [Read more 🡒]