The Boston Red Sox return to Fenway Park on June 2, fresh off a series win against the Atlanta Braves. Boston will face off with the Los Angeles Angels at home before heading to the Bronx at the end of the week to open its season series against the New York Yankees.
June 2 could be the perfect day for the Red Sox to call up Roman Anthony. Despite winning their series with the Braves, the Red Sox are still desperate for an offensive boost, which the top prospect can definitely provide. Boston's head of player development, Brian Abraham, even hinted at some action with the roster at some point this week.
“A lot of excitement the next few days,” Abraham told the hosts of the “Play Tessie" podcast on May 31. “… Little tease.”
Chief baseball officer Craig Breslow has emphasized that the Red Sox will be careful about when they bring Anthony up to the big leagues to limit the pressure on him. A three-game series at home against a losing opponent in the Angels before Boston takes its first trip to New York to face the first-place Yankees could be the ideal moment for the Red Sox to make the call.
Anthony is batting .303/.430/.492 with a .922 OPS over 53 games in Triple-A. Not only does he have nothing more to prove, but Boston's offense mustered just eight runs over its three games in Atlanta. Call him up.
Former Red Sox reliever Joe Jacques traded from Dodgers to Mariners
Along with Abraham's tease, the weekend included a few roster moves for former Red Sox around the league. Early on June 2, the Seattle Mariners acquired former Red Sox reliever Joe Jacques from the Dodgers, first reported by Joel Sherman of the New York Post.
Boston selected the lefty Jacques from the Pirates in the 2022 minor league Rule 5 Draft. He posted a 2.54 ERA in 39 innings with the WooSox before the Sox summoned him to the major leagues in June 2023. He posted a 5.06 ERA with 20 strikeouts and 10 walks over 26.2 innings in 2023. He made one big league appearance in Boston in 2024 before he was designated for assignment.
Jacques signed a minor league deal with the Dodgers before the 2025 season. He never appeared in the majors for them and posted a 6.04 ERA with Triple-A Oklahoma City.
Former Red Sox fan favorite Dominic Smith opts out of Yankees deal
Former Red Sox interim first baseman Dominic Smith has become a free agent after opting out of his minor league deal with the Yankees organization, first reported by Jeff Passan of ESPN.
Many Red Sox fans have taken Smith's availability and run with it — he became the team's first baseman after Triston Casas' long-term injury last year, and his infectious attitude instantly created many fans in Boston. He batted .237/.317/.390 with 20 doubles and 34 RBI over 84 games with the Sox.
Unfortunately, the Red Sox's offense has more issues than signing Smith could realistically fix. He slashed .255/.333/.448 in 45 games with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. The Red Sox have also insisted that they're going to pursue internal options to fill their vacancy at first base, such as Nick Sogard, Abraham Toro, and eventually, Kristian Campbell.