NEW YORK -- The Red Sox welcomed back two reinforcements for the stretch run as they activated Roman Anthony and Trevor Story from the injured list prior to Sunday's game against the Yankees at Yankee Stadium, the final regular-season contest between the two rivals.
Both players were immediately slotted into the starting lineup, with Anthony batting leadoff as the designated hitter while Story was batting eighth and playing shortstop. With the season series tied 6-6, the winner of Sunday's game will claim the crucial head-to-head tiebreaker that would determine playoff seeding if the teams finish with the same record.
Anthony has been out of action since May 4 with right hand/wrist injury while the veteran Story underwent hernia surgery and last suited up for the Sox on May 14.
Mickey Gasper and Anthony Seigler were optioned to Triple-A Worcester in corresponding roster moves.
The first clue that Anthony and Story were headed to New York happened when both players exited their Minor League rehab game at Triple-A Worcester on Saturday afternoon in the late innings. Both players had been going the distance in recent contests.
Then, there were reports out of Worcester that Anthony and Story cleaned out their lockers and exited Polar Park together with their Red Sox equipment bags in tow.
At that point, the only mystery left was if they took a car service or a plane to New York.
Anthony will become an immediate fixture in Boston’s lineup in left field and DH, and he is likely to lead off from the get-go, at least against righties. On Sunday, the Sox will face a right-hander in Will Warren.
Story’s frequency of playing time at the outset is less certain, both because of the injury he is coming back from and the production the Red Sox have had from several infielders (Nick Sogard, Andruw Monasterio, Seigler) during his absence. Gasper had also been red hot at DH since his most recent callup from the Minors two weeks ago.
The Red Sox (74-62) turned the fortunes of their season around dramatically without Anthony and Story, two players who went into the season as key cogs in the lineup. Now, they get a couple of fresh bodies for the final stretch run.
“I think it's really important for us to get those guys back. We need them,” said Red Sox first baseman Willson Contreras. “It's also important to recognize the job or the work that the whole lineup has been putting in for the last three months. I think those are tough decisions to make. I don't know what's going to happen [Sunday], but we do have to recognize the job that the guys are doing for this team, and we couldn't have done what we've done without them.”
Anthony is coming back around the same time his season ended in ‘25 with a left oblique strain. At the time of the injury last year, he was perhaps the best hitter on the Red Sox, producing an .859 OPS and 3.3 Baseball Reference WAR in 71 games and 303 plate appearances.
For Team USA in the World Baseball Classic back in March, Anthony was also a standout performer, being named an outfielder on the All-Tournament team.
But he struggled in 30 games this season before suffering a partial tear of a tendon near his right ring finger, hitting .229 with a homer and five RBIs.
The 22-year-old is considered one of the most talented young players in the Majors, and could propel the Red Sox in the final stages of their playoff run.
In 25 at-bats during his rehab assignment, Anthony slashed .280/.367/.600 with two doubles, two homers and seven RBIs.
Story, Boston’s best power hitter last season, had a much tougher time, going 6-for-35 (.171) for the WooSox with just three RBIs.