It was not, apparently, Red Sox manager Alex Cora’s favorite thing, to trot out the best prospect in baseball, after he was finally called up to Boston, and stick him in the lineup as the designated hitter. There were times he had no choice, of course, as the Red Sox feature a terrific outfield with Ceddanne Rafaela in center, Wilyer Abreu in right and Jarren Duran in left field.
To get Anthony’s bat in the lineup, there were times Cora had to DH him. In his first 38 games, Anthony was the DH 13 times.
If Cora has his way, he will never have to put Anthony there again.
“I don’t like the kid to be a DH. Never, hopefully, while I’m managing,” Cora said. “It’s a good time for him to play the outfield. Whenever we have a chance for him to play the outfield, we’ll do it.”
Roman Anthony Is a Good Outfielder
Anthony is a strong outfielder, with a chance to become excellent as he learns the intricacies of Fenway Park. But the team already has defensive stars in place–at least until recently.
The wrist injury suffered by rookie second baseman Marcelo Mayer has opened up some defensive room on the field for the Red Sox. Rafaela can play second base, which allows Duran to move to center and affords Anthony the chance to play left field, which is probably his long-term position.
Red Sox Roster Has Depth
The injury to Mayer comes just ahead of the MLB trade deadline and probably puts a bigger halt on the notion of trading away Duran than had already been in place. Because the Red Sox outfield does feature a crowd, the assumption was that Duran could be the most available of the Red Sox position players.
But with Mayer out, and Rafaela in the infield, things change.
As Cora said, “Like the great Tito Francona used to say, ‘Things will take care of itself.’ Hate it that it’s this way, but [Masataka Yoshida] can actually now, instead of platooning against lefties, he can play against righties. We can play Roman [Anthony] in the outfield, and we’ll maximize the roster.”
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