The 2025 Boston Red Sox roster has experienced quite a bit of turnover this season due to top prospect debuts, injuries and trades of expected franchise icons. The Red Sox have also been rather streaky this season — as a team and as individuals.
These factors will make it difficult to narrow down the options for the team's season MVP. Red Sox insider Chris Cotillo of MassLive has already made his decision, and it may ruffle some Sox fans' feathers.
"I think [Roman Anthony] is the MVP of the Red Sox's season," Cotillo said on the "Fantasy Baseball Beat" podcast. "He basically led them for an extremely long stretch in which they were one of the better teams in baseball, and when he hasn't been on the roster, they've been mediocre or average."
Anthony did provide a huge boost to the Red Sox's lineup in their huge July and August tear, and the offense has looked more streaky than usual without him. Boston went 46-27 in the 71 games Anthony spent on the active roster, and it's gone 39-44 between his time in the minor leagues and on the injured list.
Red Sox insider calls Roman Anthony their MVP after just 71 games in the league — and he might be right
Is Roman Anthony the MVP of the Red Sox season? @ChrisCotillo believes so, and says the rookie is a superstar in the making pic.twitter.com/dDxBPAbrUG
— Nick Pollack (@PitcherList) September 22, 2025
Anthony slashed .292/.396/.463 with a .859 OPS through 71 games in the league. That includes his rough opening stretch in June, when he batted .210/.329/.339 through his first 19 games. He hit his stride in July and August, and he batted .311/.394/.504 in his last 30 appearances.
Anthony is also a great defender, and Boston didn't lose much security by playing him in right field over Gold Glove winner, Wilyer Abreu. The rookie posted six outs above average and eight defensive runs saved over 290.1 innings in right field.
After the Rafael Devers trade, chief baseball officer Craig Breslow and other members of the front office mentioned that they didn't want Anthony and Boston's other top prospects to have to "save" the team. But Anthony did just that by bringing his aggressive offense and lockdown defense when the Red Sox needed it most — Boston's .630 winning percentage with Anthony on the roster shows just how big a hero he was.
Garrett Crochet and Trevor Story have also posted excellent seasons for the Red Sox, and both have solid arguments for the title of team MVP. Crochet is a top American League Cy Young Award contender and he's been the ace Boston's rotation has sorely lacked in recent years. Story has one of the best cases for the AL Comeback Player of the Year Award, and his bat has been one of the most consistent in the Sox's lineup (besides his very rough May).
Still, Anthony's late-season absence shows how critical he was to Boston's success in July and August. Cotillo's argument that Anthony is the team MVP may not be popular since his tenure with the team was so short, but the extent of his impact is undeniable.