Wrist injury forces Anthony to IL, though stint is expected to be short

BOSTON – With left fielder Roman Anthony set to be out of the lineup for the third straight day due to a right hand sprain suffered Monday in Detroit, the Red Sox placed him on the 10-day injured list (retroactive to Tuesday) prior to Thursday’s contest against the Rays.

Mickey Gasper was recalled from Triple-A Worcester to fill Anthony’s spot on the roster.

Masataka Yoshida is expected to pick up most of Anthony’s at-bats in the starting lineup as the DH, with Jarren Duran, Ceddanne Rafaela and Wilyer Abreu playing the three outfield spots.

Anthony could return to the roster as soon as May 15, when the Red Sox open a road trip in Atlanta. In fact, that is his plan.

“For me, where I stand right now, how it's gone on and the way it’s felt over the last few days, when the IL stint is over, I plan to be in that game the next day,” said Anthony.

Initially called a wrist injury, Anthony clarified on Thursday that it is a sprained ligament under his right ring finger.

“There's so much that goes on in the hand, and I've never dealt with a hand issue before,” said Anthony. “So, I think just getting the news back, understanding that it's nothing very serious, is the best news we could have gotten. The treatment is pretty simple, trying to get a lot of blood flow circulating around the wrist and the arm. Nothing too crazy. Just a little sprain. The ligament near the ring finger. Nothing that will take too long. So, I think that's the best part.”

As important as Anthony is, the Red Sox felt they would have been playing short-handed another four or five days before he was able to return.

“It was more of a case of how long are we willing to play shorthanded, which we've already done for two days,” said Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy. “So, coming in today and assessing him and seeing where he's at, knowing the soreness level, and say, if it's four or five days away, then we're playing shorthanded for that long. So we can't do that. So, it's more a case of that. I think we're still optimistic that hopefully it's not too long, but we'll keep seeing how he responds."

Gasper, a left-handed hitter who saw time with the Red Sox in 2024 and was with them for most of Spring Training this year, will mainly contribute off the bench.

While some hand injuries can be tricky, Anthony has been told by the medical staff that this is one that shouldn’t linger.

“It kind of heals on its own,” Anthony said. “So, it's one of those things, when you feel like you're able to go, you're good to go. And you know, we have a great training staff. We have a great group in there, a great hand specialist. Just fully trusting in them and what they think and things that they've seen in the past with similar injuries. So, I'll leave it up to them.”

Anthony, who dealt with back issues a couple of weeks ago, has played in 30 of Boston’s first 38 games. In 109 at-bats, he has a batting line of .229/.354/.321 with one homer and five RBIs. However, he had been showing improved results in the days leading up to the hand injury, which he suffered on a check swing/foul ball.

“As you would expect, I’d like to be there with the guys,” said Anthony. “I'm happy that they got the job done in Detroit, got a great sweep. I think the team, we look great. For me, it was frustrating, and I started to feel good in the box. Started to really settle in. And never want things like that to happen, but it's part of it. So, just got to get better as best I can, and do what I can to get back out there with the guys.”