The Boston Red Sox have not had Roman Anthony in the lineup since May 4 as he recovers from a partially torn tendon in his right wrist.
Anthony was expected to be the Red Sox's best hitter this season, but he was struggling before his injury, and then he ended up missing most of the season. However, he's too good a hitter not to figure things out, and the Red Sox would love to have him back in October.
"Today, he actually took overhand BP in the cage, which is another step in the right direction. So we're in phases with this,” interim manager Chad Tracy said on Tuesday, per MLB.com's Ian Browne. “Early on, it was tee and flips, which he managed well. Hit BP today for the first time. I think it's a scheduled recovery day tomorrow, and then get back to overhand BP again. So we'll keep him in this phase now and see how he responds to that, and then hopefully advance him past that.”
Anthony slashed .292/.396/.463 in 71 games last season. He went on to be one of the best players in the World Baseball Classic, but was off to a slow start this season. He had a .675 OPS through 30 games and just one home run.
Still, he is seen as one of the best young hitters in baseball and should be a massive upgrade over Jarren Duran in left field. With Anthony back in the lineup, the only real hole may be at shortstop, where Andruw Monasterio has filled in nicely. Second base could be a concern if Curtis Mead cannot return.
Trevor Story could come back and look more like he did last season, but that is not really something the Red Sox should count on.