Roman Anthony is currently on a rehab assignment as he looks to make his return to the Boston Red Sox lineup for the first time since May 4.
Anthony tore a ligament under his right finger and has played in four minor league rehab games already. However, the team is giving him some more time. He has spent all of his rehab assignment so far with Double-A Portland, but will play for Triple-A Worcester on Tuesday and Wednesday.
According to MassLive's Christopher Smith, Chad Tracy said the team will re-evaluate Anthony's status on Thursday after his games with the WooSox.
“Results are good but when you’re doing minor league rehab games and you’ve been down for a while, that’s probably a few notches down the list,” Tracy said. “It’s more about game load, like accumulation on the legs, back-to-back nines (nine-inning games). Whatever the specific injury is, like getting tested. For Izzy, that’s like swing volume for the arm. For Trevor, it’s like getting tested on the bases moving laterally. For Roman, it’s swing volume in the hand.”
Anthony will be a huge boost for the Red Sox lineup, even if he is hitting as he did before the injury, which was not up to standard. Replacing Jarren Duran with Anthony will do wonders for the offensive output, and if Anthony is back to form, he is the kind of bat that can carry a team through October.
In 71 games last season, he posted an .859 OPS. He was phenomenal in the World Baseball Classic, but had just a .229 batting average in 30 games this year. He is too talented not to get back to swinging a hit bat, so getting him back in the lineup for September and the postseason will be huge.
Thursday will be an important day for Anthony and the Red Sox. If they deem that he is ready, he could be in the lineup against the New York Yankees on Friday.
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