Remember when optimism surrounding the Boston Red Sox wasn't in short supply? Don't expect those days to return any time soon.
Manager Chad Tracy has confirmed that Roman Anthony is being shut down yet again after feeling some discomfort during hitting drills this week.
Roman Anthony felt discomfort hitting off a tee yesterday and has been shut down from swinging again, at least for a few days, Chad Tracy said.
— Chris Cotillo (@ChrisCotillo) May 29, 2026
The hope was that Anthony would progress from practice off a tee to live pitching drills over the span of a few days, before ultimately being sent out on a rehab assignment. That reality is now delayed, at least until the start of June.
It's just another brutal break for the Sox, who are 4-6 over their last 10 games and are barely clinging onto life at the bottom of the AL East standings.
Roman Anthony's setback could seal fate for doomed 2026 Red Sox
It's no secret that the Red Sox put a lot of eggs in the Anthony-will-be-a-star basket this past offseason, foregoing a reunion with Alex Bregman to instead build around their 22-year-old outfielder. The idea had its merits — he hit .292/.396/.463 (140 wRC+) as a rookie last season — but it's blowing up in the front office's faces right now.
Anthony wasn't even performing all that well before the injury, posting a below-average 94 wRC+ and .675 OPS through 30 games. That should have been survivable given the team's embarrassment of riches in the outfield, but Jarren Duran's incessant struggles at the plate have led to a subpar offensive unit, regardless of whether or not Anthony is in the lineup.
This latest setback is just the latest frustration in what's becoming yet another unacceptable saga in Boston. Anthony contradicted the team's public reporting recently, confirming that he does have a partial tear in his ring finger that isn't healing as fast as the initial timeline given. As a result, it's becoming harder and harder to trust this organization, both literally and figuratively.
Following the conclusion of May, the Red Sox will meet their reckoning, squaring off with each of their four AL East rivals in a five-series span in the first half of June. How they perform in that stretch will, effectively, determine their direction for the rest of the season. It was always going to be a tall task trying to survive that gauntlet; doing so without Anthony (and Garrett Crochet) feels like a death wish.
The team gave no updated timeline on Anthony's recovery (not that it would matter), though barring any further setbacks, he could begin a rehab assignment in mid-June with an eye on returning by the end of the month.
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