Top outfield prospect Roman Anthony has excelled at every level of the minor leagues and Boston Red Sox fans are getting antsy for his debut.
Anthony has been crushing Triple-A pitching and fans have wondered what more he needs to prove before he gets the call to the big leagues. He's slashing .297/.436/.554 with a .990 OPS through 21 games, and that pop would serve the Red Sox's inconsistent offense well.
There are still a few obstacles between Anthony and the big leagues. Boston's outfield is jam-packed, with Jarren Duran, Wilyer Abreu, Ceddanne Rafaela, Rob Refsnyder and Kristian Campbell in the mix for reps. Chief baseball officer Craig Breslow also mentioned on a radio appearance that he plans to allow Anthony more time to develop in the outfield, which could take quite a while.
Red Sox CEO and president Sam Kennedy also spoke about Anthony's eventual promotion on WEEI's "The Greg Hill Show." He emphasized that the call-up will be Breslow's decision.
Sam Kennedy clarifies that Roman Anthony's eventual Red Sox promotion will be Craig Breslow's call
When is the right time to call someone up like Roman Anthony? #Redsox President and CEO Sam Kennedy explains the process.
— The Greg Hill Show (@TheGregHillShow) April 24, 2025
Kennedy: "I'm sure he'll be up sooner rather than later." #MLB @WEEI pic.twitter.com/zsSiM3NslF
"Well, we just keep walking by Bres' office saying, 'come on, man, what are we waiting for?'" Kennedy said, laughing. He contradicted his joke in the same statement.
"I think the thing with him or anybody else, when you have someone who is at the top of the minor league player development cycle, you want to make sure that they're fully ready and when they come up, they're going to come up to stay."
The Red Sox have made clear that they won't call up their top prospects until they have an everyday role in the big league lineup. Boston's outfield is defensively solid-to-great, with Duran, Rafaela and Abreu usually guarding the pastures, and the Sox may find it hard to justify promoting Anthony when they'll have to bench or cut a more capable defender to accommodate him.
Anthony also dealt with mild shoulder soreness that kept him out of the outfield and in Worcester's designated hitter spot from April 11-22. He returned to left field on April 23 and made a stellar diving catch to get the Sox front office's attention. Boston will surely want to see him make multiple such plays before summoning him for his debut, though.
In his interview, Kennedy also mentioned that winning games in the big leagues is, of course, the team's ultimate priority. If Boston's bats continue to struggle and strike out at a high clip, the team may have no choice but to call Anthony up. Whenever the Red Sox make the call, it'll be because Breslow felt ready to pull the trigger.