Since he was placed on the injured list retroactive to May 5, Boston Red Sox fans have speculated that the team wasn't being entirely honest about Roman Anthony's hand injury. First, he was diagnosed with a wrist sprain, then a fourth finger ligament sprain before Anthony confirmed his injury on May 28.
The outfielder told Rob Bradford of WEEI that the carpometacarpal (CMC) ligament in his right ring finger is partially torn, directly contradicting a statement team president and CEO Sam Kennedy made, alleging that there is "no evidence of a tear" in Anthony's scans.
Just as fans have wondered if the Red Sox were being dishonest about the injury, they've also had to ask "why?" What is gained by covering up the tear? Who benefits from the lie? Ken Laird of WEEI's "Rich and Ken with Ted Johnson" has a wild idea that Red Sox fans sincerely hope isn't true.
"Is it possible that [the Red Sox] are dangling Roman in trade talks, and that's why they don't want the injury information out there?" he asked. "He's got a friendly contract which he agreed to, he showed during the World Baseball Classic. Especially if you're a rebuilding team that knows it's going to be a three or four-year project, you might be willing to give up a Yordan Alvarez for Roman Anthony and other stuff."
WEEI host theorizes Red Sox may be trying to hide Roman Anthony's injury because he's on the trade block
Ken Laird floats the theory that the Red Sox not sharing Roman Anthony’s injury could be because they’re looking to move him at the trade deadline. Rich and Ted aren’t so sure. @richkented @KenLairdWEEI @teddyjradio @heyrichhey @WEEI#RedSox, #MLB, #Baseball, #RomanAnthony pic.twitter.com/a8MngBuTBL
— WEEI (@WEEI) May 29, 2026
Of course, this idea sounds horrible and completely out of the realm of possibility to most Sox fans. The team hyped Anthony endlessly as the future face of the team and extended him quickly to ensure he would be. Boston has marketed him as a generational star and he showed flashes of that during the WBC and the 71 games of his rookie season (.292/.396/.463).
The Red Sox don't have the good graces within their fanbase to pull something like an Anthony trade. Red Sox fans still aren't over the Mookie Betts trade (justifiably) and the Rafael Devers trade followed by a botched offseason reunion attempt with Alex Bregman haven't made the relationship any better. Boston has four World Series in the last 26 years, yet "sell the team" chants rain at Fenway Park because ownership is impulsive and out of touch.
Anthony isn't getting traded and to suggest he could be is ridiculous — this year's Red Sox offense was built so poorly out of trust that Anthony would be the team's best player for years to come. A finger injury isn't going to change how Boston sees his potential (although, the Red Sox's hiding of his injury, as well as a laundry list of other dysfunctions, could have him second-guessing about signing with them for the next eight years).
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