The Boston Red Sox played the majority of their season without star players, Garrett Crochet and Roman Anthony. Both players were active in the postseason and Crochet is expected to have a full, healthy offseason ahead of him, but it's a different story for Anthony.
The Red Sox pulled Anthony early from Game 1 of their Wild Card rematch against the New York Yankees. He took multiple check swings during his two at-bats against Cam Schlittler, which re-triggered the ligament injury in Anthony's ring finger, which never fully healed. Imaging following Anthony's Game 1 exit also revealed new injuries to muscles in Anthony's wrist, according to Red Sox manager Chad Tracy.
Tracy and Craig Breslow spoke more about Anthony's injury at Boston's October 5 end of season press conference. Breslow said Anthony and the Red Sox are still working through doctors appointments and more imaging to find the best course of treatment for his injury. Breslow also noted that the Red Sox and Anthony's doctors have not identified any surgery that would resolve his problem. Rest is the only answer.
Anthony's initial injury, a tear of the CMC ligament in his ring finger, is a rare diagnosis for baseball players. Even early in his recovery process, surgery was never on the table.
Red Sox do not expect Roman Anthony to need surgery on injured hand, rest is his only option
Alex Speier of The Boston Globe in June interviewed Dr. Mark Cohen of Midwest Orthopaedics at Rush University who said that the typical timetable for collagen to heal in a ligament tear is eight-12 weeks (subscription required). Anthony likely never got that much rest time because he was trying to get back into game action all summer. Breslow emphasized that offseason rest is different than midseason rest — Anthony will no longer be in any rush to get back to playing and resting his hand is truly all he can do to feel better for the 2027 season.
A typical MLB offseason is typically four months, which is about how much time Anthony missed due to his injury. An offseason could give Anthony enough time to heal, but this offseason is expected to be unique due to the impending labor negotiations between MLB and the Players' Association. In the event of a lockout, Anthony would have even more time to heal than he normally would.
After Anthony's push to return before his hand was fully healed, he'll need an extra long offseason to get right again, especially if corrective surgery isn't an option. Hopefully, real "offseason rest," as Breslow called it, is the answer to the most troubling injury of Boston's season.
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