DETROIT – What looked like an innocuous check swing on a foul ball by Red Sox outfielder Roman Anthony on Monday night led to pain at the top of his right wrist that has left his status for the coming days uncertain.
Though initial X-rays taken after his team’s 5-4 victory over the Tigers came back negative, the club will send Anthony back to Boston on Tuesday morning to be evaluated by a hand specialist.
Though Anthony finished his at-bat in the top of the first inning by grounding out to second base and then played defense in the bottom of the first, he was replaced by Masataka Yoshida in left field when the Red Sox came back out in the bottom of the second.
“I just took a swing and it didn't feel good,” said Anthony. “And as I came back in and went under to continue to swing, it just was painful.”
Though the 21-year-old Anthony is off to a slow start this season, he has performed better of late and is one of the most important players on the team.
The Red Sox hope he won’t miss significant time, but there’s no way of knowing until seeing the results of Tuesday’s MRI. Anthony has never had a hand injury.
“There’s nothing swollen, really, like visible on the outside,” Anthony said. “But again, I don't know much about the hand. I've never dealt with a hand anything. So again, I’ll leave that up to the hand specialist to see what he's got.”
A best-case scenario would have Anthony returning to Detroit and playing again in this series, which concludes Wednesday night.
“I think the whole point is to get him back with our specialist to see him and see how he is, and if everything's good, we'll get him back here, but we’ve got to get him back there first,” interim manager Chad Tracy said. “I'm hopeful, but it’s really hard to say until he sees the specialist.”
Anthony’s rookie season of 2025 was cut short by a left oblique strain suffered on Sept. 2.
“It's not a good feeling. I don’t want to be in this situation,” said Anthony. “Nobody ever wants to be hurt. That’s just the way it's gone. So I’ve just got to deal with it, get through it and get back out there as soon as I can.”
In 30 games and 109 at-bats, Anthony has a batting line of .229/.354/.321 with one homer and five RBIs.
The Red Sox have struggled mightily on offense to open the season, but the hitters have been healthy for the most part.
The pitching staff, in particular, has been decimated of late.
Rotation members Garrett Crochet and Sonny Gray are both on the 15-day injured list, while lefty Ranger Suarez left his start on Sunday with right hamstring tightness. The status for his next start is unclear. Several of the team’s rotation depth options are also injured, including Kutter Crawford, Patrick Sandoval and Johan Oviedo.
Key reliever Justin Slaten also remains on the 15-day IL, though he could be closing in on a return to action after starting a Minor League rehab assignment on Sunday.