{"id":53284,"date":"2025-06-04T03:48:51","date_gmt":"2025-06-04T03:48:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=53284"},"modified":"2025-06-04T03:48:51","modified_gmt":"2025-06-04T03:48:51","slug":"alex-cora-digs-in-heels-on-red-sox-roman-anthony-snub-this-is-roster-we-have","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=53284","title":{"rendered":"Alex Cora Digs in Heels on Red Sox Roman Anthony Snub, \u2018This is Roster We Have\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"c-content entry-content\">\n<div id=\"post-featured-container-id\">\n<div id=\"post-featured\" class=\"has-video wp-caption \">\n<div class=\"h-responsive\">\n<figure class=\"h-responsive__inner\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"attachment-featured-image size-featured-image wp-post-image\" src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Alex-Cora-Roman-Anthony.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 820px) 95vw, 780px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Alex-Cora-Roman-Anthony.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780 780w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Alex-Cora-Roman-Anthony.jpg?quality=15&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1100 1100w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Alex-Cora-Roman-Anthony.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1350 1350w\" alt=\"Alex Cora\" width=\"780\" height=\"439\" data-img-load-time=\"709\" data-dom-ready-time=\"764\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span class=\"caption-credit\">Getty<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"featured-widget-area\">\n<div id=\"heavy_multi_stn_video_player_widget-4\" class=\"stn-player-cls stn-player-container\">\n<div data-stn-player=\"wfgg3pv0\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The Boston Red Sox finished 2024 at a perfectly mediocre 81-81, but there was cause for optimism \u2014 namely,\u00a0the \u201cBig Four\u201d minor league prospects\u00a0who promised an exciting future for the team that\u00a0won four World Series from 2004 to 2018\u00a0but has made the playoffs just once in the six years since, with four seasons at .500 or worse.<\/p>\n<p>Of those \u201cBig Four,\u201d catcher\u00a0Kyle Teel was traded\u00a0to the Chicago White Sox in the package that brought ace lefty Garrett Crochet to Boston. Second baseman\u00a0Kristian Campbell made the big league roster\u00a0out of spring training, and shortstop\u00a0Marcelo Mayer got a call-up\u00a0on May 24 after two-time All-Star\u00a0third baseman Alex Bregman\u00a0went on the injured list with a quad strain.<\/p>\n<p>And then there was one.<\/p>\n<p>That one remaining \u201cbig\u201d prospect, 21-year-old Roman Anthony, may be the best of the bunch. The No. 1 prospect in baseball, as\u00a0rated by\u00a0<em>MLB Pipeline<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0<em>Baseball Prospectus<\/em>\u00a0remains at Triple-A Worcester.<\/p>\n<h2>No. 1 Prospect Dominates Triple-A Pitching<\/h2>\n<p>Down on the farm, Anthony continues to dominate Triple-A pitching. The lefty-swinging outfielder has recorded hits in\u00a040 of the 53 games he had played\u00a0as of Sunday, putting up an\u00a0OPS of .922 and a batting average\u00a0of .303.<\/p>\n<p>In addition to his 59 hits in 242 trips to the plate, Anthony has walked 45 times for an on-base percentage of .430. For comparison, the\u00a0MLB-leading on-base percentage belongs to Aaron Judge at .485. Anthony\u2019s .430 would be fourth in the big leagues.<\/p>\n<p>As the Red Sox struggle,\u00a0at 29-33 losing seven\u00a0of their last nine games, why does Anthony continue to languish at the Red Sox Triple-A affiliate in Worcester, Massachusetts, about an hour\u2019s drive west of Fenway Park?<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s what Red Sox\u00a0fans continue to wonder\u00a0\u2014 especially after the Kansas City Royals\u00a0called up their top prospect, Jac Caglianone, after just 11 Triple-A games to make his Major League debut on Tuesday.<\/p>\n<p>Manager Alex Cora attempted to answer that question, in a way that left Red Sox fans unsatisfied to say the least last week, saying that Anthony is \u201cnot knocking at the door, he\u2019s knocking it down,\u201d but going on to say, \u201cWhen we make the decision. I know everybody is going to be happy. And I know he\u2019s going to contribute.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>Cora Gives Awkward Defense of Anthony Non-Promotion<\/h2>\n<p>On Tuesday, Cora again offered what Matthew Sullivan\u00a0of\u00a0<em>Athlon Sports<\/em>\u00a0called a \u201cnon-answer\u201d\u00a0to the Anthony question.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRoman is doing well. He\u2019s getting better. As of now, this is the roster that we have and we are gonna continue to maximize that,\u201d Cora said in\u00a0an interview of WEEI Radio\u00a0in Boston. \u201cWe are very proud of the work he\u2019s putting down there. And like I said last week, he\u2019s not knocking at the doors, he\u2019s kicking it. So we\u2019ll see what happens in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The answer again left fans shaking their heads.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs the season is in dangerous territory of slipping away, the Red Sox\u2019s patience in calling up Anthony is frustrating,\u201d Sullivan wrote. \u201cCora\u2019s remark, which leaves Anthony\u2019s call-up status in question, is a further frustrating development for the Red Sox.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Going back to last season, Anthony has now\u00a0played 88 Triple-A games, more than any\u00a0<em>MLB Pipeline<\/em> No. 1 prospect since 2004 with only two exceptions: Corey Seager (105 games), the top prospect in 2016, and Delmon Young (138), who topped the prospect rankings from 2005 to 2007.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Getty The Boston Red Sox finished 2024 at a perfectly mediocre 81-81, but there was cause for optimism \u2014 namely,\u00a0the \u201cBig Four\u201d minor league prospects\u00a0who promised an&#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":53288,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-53284","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.8 - 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