The Boston Red Sox have been without Roman Anthony since early May with a torn ligament under his right ring finger, but he is taking steps toward a return.
Interim manager Chad Tracy told the Boston Globe's Alex Speier that Anthony started hitting off a machine on Friday. The move is an attempt to expose his swing to higher velocities. He had been taking soft toss and hitting off a tee in recent days.
“From what I understand, he’s taking swings and feels really good,” Tracy said on Friday, per MassLive's Chris Cotillo. “There may be things post-(hitting) where you have a little soreness, but that’s pretty expected at this point.
“All things are positive. Let him keep taking steps, temper expectations until he crosses and checks all these boxes, then we’ll see when we can get him here.”
The real question is what all of this progress really means and when fans can expect Anthony back. Anthony was off to a slow start to the season before his injury, but after what he did last year and at the World Baseball Classic, there is no reason to believe he was not close to figuring things out again.
However, now, after missing so much time, it will take a lot to get him back in the lineup. For one, he will need to face live pitching and see how he feels. Next, he will need to get his timing back. On top of that, he will need some kind of rehab assignment.
In reality, the Red Sox will want some big league at-bats under his belt before they stick him in the lineup for the postseason. That could mean that they will want him back by mid-September if he wants a chance to play in October. He still has a ways to go, but as soon as he can swing at high velocity without pain, things will ramp up in a hurry.