Before the start of their home series against the Tampa Bay Rays on June 9, the Boston Red Sox answered fans' prayers.
The Red Sox have finally called up top prospect Roman Anthony. Speculations of the outfielder's call-up were first reported by Chris Cotillo of MassLive, and they were quickly confirmed by Christopher Smith. The young outfielder had an argument to make the big league roster after an excellent 2024 stint in Triple-A, but his dominant 2025 start confirmed his case. The "Big Three" of Anthony, Marcelo Mayer and Kristian Campbell will at last be reunited in the majors.
Anthony, the consensus No. 1 prospect in baseball, is slashing .288/.423/.491 with a .914 OPS with 51 walks and 56 strikeouts over 58 games with the WooSox. He's hit nine doubles, two triples and 10 home runs, the most recent of which was a 497-foot grand slam that screamed "major-league ready."
Anthony will bat fifth in the Red Sox's lineup against Tampa Bay. Boston transferred Wilyer Abreu to the injured list to make room on the 40-man roster for him.
Red Sox call Roman Anthony up for big league debut against division rival, promote streaking pitcher Brian Van Belle
ROMAN REIGNS
— Worcester Red Sox (@WooSox) June 8, 2025
GRAND SLAM 💥💥💥💥 pic.twitter.com/QJATly6Ctm
Boston has added Anthony to the lineup at a critical time. The Red Sox took two of three games from the first-place Yankees in the Bronx over the weekend, but they haven't successfully carried positive momentum between series this year. Anthony's promotion adds a gritty bat to the order before their second series against the Rays and Yankees, and ahead of a West Coast road trip where the Red Sox will face the Mariners, Giants and Angels.
One of the reasons the Red Sox delayed Anthony's call-up for so long was a logjam in the roster. Boston's outfield is stacked with Abreu, Jarren Duran, Ceddanne Rafaela, Rob Refsnyder and eventually Masataka Yoshida. Abreu's injury has given the Red Sox the clearest path they've had all season for Anthony's debut, and it will be interesting to see what their plan is for the outfield when Abreu returns.
The Red Sox have also selected pitcher Brian Van Belle from Triple-A Worcester. To make room on the 40-man roster, Robert Stock has been designated for assignment for the second time this year. He's let up three runs on four hits in 2.2 innings for the Red Sox. The first time Stock was DFA'd, he accepted an outright assignment to Worcester, where he pitched to a 3.09 ERA with 63 strikeouts over 55.1 innings.
Van Belle, 28, has no MLB experience, and his first appearance for the Red Sox will be his big league debut. The righty has posted an excellent season in Worcester so far, with a 2.29 ERA with 41 strikeouts and seven walks in 51 innings.