The Boston Red Sox have been banking a large portion of their future on 21-year-old Roman Anthony since he rose quickly through the minor league ranks to become the No. 1 prospect not only in the Red Sox system, but in all of baseball heading into the 2025 season.
But the Red Sox organization, and all of Red Sox Nation, got a scare on Monday when Anthony was suddenly scratched from the team’s starting lineup for the game at Fenway Park against the Kansas City Royals. The rookie, who has put up a .929 OPS and .330 batting average since July 1, was slated to play right field and bat third.
Abreu a Last-Minute Sub for Rookie Star
Manager Alex Cora quickly inserted second-year lefty-swinging power-hitter Wilyer Abreu, who has belted 20 home runs on the season, into Anthony’s spot in the batting order and on the field.
Video aired on the Red Sox television network NESN showed Anthony on the Fenway Park field attempting to stretch before the game, but grabbing for his back and then signaling for a trainer to come out.
Anthony Scratched With ‘Mid-Back Tightness’
At about 6:50 p.m. Eastern Time, just 20 minutes before first pitch, Cora made his decision to scratch Anthony from the lineup. According to reporter Gabrielle Starr of the Boston Herald, the cause given by the team was “mid-back tightness” suffered by the rookie star.
Anthony was the Red Sox’ second-round draft pick in 2022. The club used the compensatory pick it received for pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez, who signed as a free agent with the Detroit Tigers.
Though Anthony was taken with the 79th overall pick, the Red Sox valued him highly enough that they awarded him a $2.5 million signing bonus, to lure him away from the University of Mississippi where he was already committed to attend and play baseball. The sum was about twice the amount assigned as the slot value for pick No. 79.
After starting 2025 with Triple-A Worcester where he put up a .913 OPS with 10 home runs, Anthony was finally called up to the big leagues on June 9.
Anthony Hits Stride After Slow Start
After a slow start in June, collecting just 13 hits and 10 walks in 73 plate appearances, Anthony appeared to find a hitting groove.
In July, Anthony recorded a .946 OPS. He opened the month of August with a walk-off double on Friday to give the Red Sox a win to start a three-game series against the visiting American League West-leading Houston Astros.
The win kicked off what turned out to be a surprising three-game sweep of the Astros for the Red Sox who had won five straight heading into Monday’s series opener against the Royals.
In Monday’s game, the Red Sox faced a lefty, Royals pitcher Bailey Falter, who was making his first start for Kansas City after being traded from the Pittsburgh Pirates for minor league prospects on Thursday.
“Abreu had made just seven starts against left-handed pitchers before Monday,” noted MassLive beat writer Chris Cotillo. “Heâs hitting .191 with a .588 OPS in 53 plate appearances against lefties this year.” But in his first two trips to the plate filling in for Anthony, Abreu had a single and a walk.
The Red Sox did not issue any further details as of about 8:15 p.m. Eastern on Monday night as to the severity of Anthony’s back ailment, or how many games he was expected to miss.
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