Top Boston Red Sox outfield prospect Roman Anthony has been holding down the designated hitter slot in Triple-A Worcester’s lineup since April 11.
Chris Henrique of Boston Sports Journal reported on April 17 that Anthony has been dealing with “minor right shoulder soreness” that has kept him out of the outfield for nearly a week. Any pain he may be experiencing doesn’t seem to be impacting his game, though.
Anthony went 7-for-12 with one strikeout in his three appearances for the WooSox between April 11-15. On April 17, he put any concerns about his shoulder to bed, with two homers in his first three at-bats. The second blast of the afternoon was a grand slam to give the WooSox a commanding 8-0 lead over Triple-A Rochester.
Anthony’s first homer left his bat at 107.9 miles per hour and flew 410 feet to center field. In the video the WooSox posted to Twitter, it appears the bomb took out an outfield camera to add a little comedy to his dominance.
Top Red Sox prospect Roman Anthony slugs two homers with sore right shoulder
The Red Sox’s offense has been underwhelming since their sweep of the Cardinals at Fenway Park — Jarren Duran, Rafael Devers, Triston Casas and a few other of Boston’s bats have struggled to start the season. Anthony’s recent offensive explosion has Sox fans clamoring for him to be called up, despite his shoulder ailment.
His recent injury isn’t the only reason the Red Sox haven’t been able to call Anthony up. Boston’s outfield is jam-packed, and Devers isn’t leaving the DH slot anytime soon. Before the top prospect gets his moment, the Red Sox have to find something to do with Duran, Wilyer Abreu, Ceddanne Rafaela or Rob Refsnyder. Rafaela seems like the clear odd man out due to his .211/.274/.246 slash line, but the Sox extended him to the tune of eight years and $50 million last year. His Glove is also elite and he’s single-handedly saved the Red Sox from a lot of damage in center field. Still, he may be the easiest candidate to be optioned for Anthony.
It will be interesting to see how much longer the Red Sox can justify keeping their top prospect in Worcester. He’s still just a month removed from turning 21 and has plenty of time to make an impact for the team, but even with an injured shoulder, he’s inevitable.
