Roman Anthony took a significant step toward his return Sunday as the injured Red Sox outfielder resumed baseball activities following his recent setback, giving Boston a potentially major boost moving forward.
The update arrives at a critical moment for Boston, with the Red Sox searching for offensive consistency while awaiting the return of the organization’s $130 million cornerstone outfielder.
The news arrived via The Athletic‘s Jen McCaffrey, who reported Sunday morning that Anthony would begin swinging a bat on Monday, starting with soft toss and flips before advancing to swings off a pitching machine. Anthony’s return would be a meaningful upgrade for a Boston Red Sox lineup that has been one of the most anemic in the AL since he went down May 4.
Anthony Has Not Swung a Bat Since May 4
The 22-year-old was placed on the 10-day IL retroactive to May 5 after injuring his wrist during a series in Detroit. He received a cortisone injection earlier in the week, and the progress was apparent Friday when he shed his wrist brace and played catch for the first time since the injury, according to MLB.com‘s Ian Browne.
“I’m out of the brace and got to do baseball activity today,” Anthony said Friday, per Browne. “I’m feeling good. Based on the way I felt throwing today, hoping to get into that very soon.”
Monday’s expected batting work represents exactly the next step Boston was hoping for. Anthony explained Friday that the throwing motion was the bridge to hitting, and he cleared that initial hurdle. The confidence he built playing catch, he said, feeds directly into the grip and swing he needs at the plate.
Interim manager Chad Tracy acknowledged Anthony’s progress while keeping expectations measured.
“It’s good where he’s at,” Tracy said, as quoted by MLB.com, “but it’s really hard to say, like, ‘How’s this thing gonna respond as he goes along?’ So each day he goes along and does something and feels better, we give him a little bit more.”
There is at least a possibility, per Browne’s reporting, that Anthony could rejoin the active roster during Boston’s upcoming three-game series in Kansas City, which opens Monday.
Red Sox Faltering Lineup Needs Anthony Back
Boston entered Sunday at 18-25, sitting last in the AL East, and the offense has been a primary culprit. Anthony was slashing .229/.354/.321 with one home run and five RBI across 30 games before the injury. That’s modest production, but his on-base skills and sheer presence in the lineup help stabilize a club starved for quality at-bats.
Anthony is no longer a prospect â that label expired with his rookie eligibility â but the expectations attached to him have not diminished. He entered the 2025 season as the consensus No. 1 prospect in all of baseball, and Boston rewarded that promise, signing him to an eight-year, $130 million pre-arbitration extension with a maximum value of $230 million, securing him through at least 2034.
He validated that faith in his rookie campaign, batting .292 with eight home runs in 71 games before an oblique injury ended his season in early September. Getting Anthony back and healthy is not simply a lineup question for Boston; it is perhaps the most important question for the future of the franchise at this moment.
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