With a record of 85-71, the Boston Red Sox lead the fight for the American League’s second Wild Card position by one game. However, if the Red Sox make the postseason, they may be missing a critical rookie.
In early September, outfielder Roman Anthony was placed on the disabled list due to a left oblique injury. While there has been some development, Anthony does not appear to be on track to return anytime soon. Chief Baseball Officer Craig Beslow gave a bleak picture of Anthony’s situation, according to Ian Browne of MLB.com.
“Yeah, but after being around him for a short while, you can see he’s growing more comfortable. “When it first happened, you could tell he was in a lot of discomfort and pain,” Breslow explained. “That has subsided, but there’s still quite a bit of room to get to in terms of baseball activity.”
Before his accident, Anthony was having a terrific first season. He batted in 71 games. 292 with 8 home runs, 32 RBIs, and 4 stolen bases. Despite losing so much time, Anthony is still second on the Red Sox in batting average among players who have had at least 100 plate appearances. Furthermore, his 3.1 WAR is the sixth most on the squad.
If Boston makes the playoffs, they will surely want to advance as far as possible. However, they do not want Anthony to injure himself further in the process. For as terrific as he was as a rookie, Anthony is Boston’s future. They’ll want his oblique completely healed when he returns to the diamond.
