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Red Sox Reveal Offseason Plan for Roman Anthony
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- Red Sox Reveal Offseason Plan for Roman Anthony
The Boston Red Sox budgeted for a breakout 2026 season for young star Roman Anthony. Instead, his year was marred by injury as he once again could not make the lineup for the final game as the club bowed out to divisional rival New York in the Wild Card round for the second straight season.
Suffering a hand injury in early May, Anthony went through several months of rest and rehab before starting a hitting progression in late July. He returned to major league action on August 30 after a minor league rehab stint and appeared in 25 games before the end of the regular season.
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During the first Wild Card game, Anthony reaggravated the same hand that put him out for much of the season and was forced out of the game. Imaging revealed additional strains on top of what was previously affected, and the 22-year-old was replaced on the playoff roster by Curtis Mead.
There were several reasons why the Red Sox were unable to get by the Yankees for a second straight year, but not having their lead-off man healthy and able to play was one that carried both an immediate impact and long-term concern. But given the reaction from both Anthony and the club over the past week, there is important context as to why this popped back up when it did.
Shortly after the original injury, the Red Sox indicated that Anthony would not resume swinging until he was pain-free. As time went on and no updates came on his health, it seems the team adjusted this expectation to fit a timeline that would have him back for a postseason push.
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In the early stages of his hitting progression, manager Chad Tracy and chief baseball officer Craig Breslow were careful to avoid the term pain-free, instead emphasizing that Anthony was responding well and feeling good. With the use of hindsight, it's clear that it became about pain management in order to get one of the team's best hitters back out there for October.
When speaking about Mead filling in on the postseason roster coming off of a broken wrist, Breslow explained that "there are times when you accelerate timelines and compress things," which also seems to fit the approach used with Anthony this summer.
Anthony was effective upon his return, slashing .262/.321/.476 with four home runs and 10 RBI, but the September workload turned out to be too much to handle as pain crept up at the end of the month and intensified in the final games.
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"I've been experiencing some things with the swings and check swings over the past six weeks, and last night just felt a little more intense than past swings have and lingered a little bit longer than the ones that I had before, so it was super alarming," Anthony said ahead of Game 2 in the Bronx last week. "It got to a point where it was tough to grip a bat, so I knew this was similar to the one earlier on in the year, and that's why we decided to go get imaging."
Still, Breslow insisted that to his knowledge, the timeline they used "was the appropriate one." The question now is what they can do to prevent the issue from lingering beyond this year.
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Red Sox's Roman Anthony Expected to Avoid Surgery
Sep 19, 2026; St. Petersburg, Florida, USA; Boston Red Sox left fielder Roman Anthony (19) looks on while on deck during the third inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn ImagesKim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images
Breslow addressed this in his end of season press conference alongside Tracy and team CEO Sam Kennedy. According to him, Anthony will avoid offseason surgery and lean on rest to get back to full strength before spring training.
"Yeah, he's had a bunch of follow-up appointments here, including imaging," he said. "We're still collecting information, still working through what the kind of right course of treatment is. And at this point, it doesn't seem that there's any type of surgical intervention. It looks like rest is likely the best path to recovery."
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The decision, Breslow explained, is largely based on the fact that his unique injury seemingly cannot be addressed by a procedure.
"My understanding is that there's no surgical intervention at this point, that's planned or that merits consideration because what we've been told is that the [doctors] don't even know what surgery we would do."
So, while at face value it is good that Anthony can avoid the lengthy recovery from a surgery, there still exists some concern that the issue could come back. In just two seasons, the young outfielder has suffered significant injuries while swinging, last year going down with a strained oblique in September.
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There is no denying that Anthony is a special talent. But with Boston's future staked heavily on his performance, consistent availability remains a major question mark.
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This story was originally published by Athlon Sports on Oct 6, 2026, where it first appeared in the MLB section. Add Athlon Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
