The afternoon of August 11 brought the Boston Red Sox a few bits of thrilling rehab news. The first one, which the club had been expecting for a week, is that trade deadline acquisition Adley Rutschman will be activated from the injured list. The Red Sox also got their best Roman Anthony injury update yet.
Anthony has begun hitting off a high-velocity Trajekt machine, according to multiple sources including Chris Cotillo of MassLive. A Trajekt machine simulates the movement of breaking pitches, giving hitters the closest thing they can get to an in-game pitch during their rehab.
Interim manager Chad Tracy said Anthony is "getting closer" to a rehab assignment, but didn't offer an exact timeline for said step. But the promise of an impending rehab assignment is exciting, given how long Anthony has been sidelined.
The sophomore outfielder injured his hand while swinging on May 4 and he's been on the IL since May 5. The early weeks of his injury included misdiagnoses and an early push to get back into action by swinging a bat before he was ready, which only set his progress back more. Finally, Boston is getting good news on Anthony's recovery.
Roman Anthony has begun hitting off a Trajekt machine, Red Sox say he's 'getting closer' to rehab assignment
Fans should probably expect a long rehab assignment for Anthony, maybe close to the 20-game maximum. He hasn't played in over three months and it will take some time before he adjusts to in-game hitting again.
Anthony also didn't seem like himself before he went down with his injury. The 22-year-old batted just .229/.354/.321 over 30 games before he got hurt. He was beginning to break out in the week before his hand flared up, to the tune of a .269/.345/.346 slash line in his last seven games.
Red Sox fans are more excited to have Anthony back now than they would've been a few weeks ago. Boston has gone on an historic winning run in the last week of July and into August, placing itself firmly in the postseason conversation. Adding a healthy Anthony to the Sox's recently-dominant lineup could give the Sox an even bigger shot in the arm than they've gotten over their wild heater.
Anthony's return also means Boston can get one of its less productive bats out of the lineup more often. Jarren Duran has struggled at the plate all season long (.201/.258/.356 slash line, 134 strikeouts over 111 games) and giving some of his reps to Anthony will do wonders for the length of the Sox's lineup.
There is about seven weeks of the regular season left and the Red Sox have asserted themselves in the American League without Anthony, but adding him back to the outfield could make all the difference in the postseason against tougher competition. Anthony met the moment after his call-up last season and he'll join this year's club at a similarly important time.
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