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Former MVP Believes Roman Anthony Pressure is Misguided

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Mike Ostrowski | Last updated Jun 10, 2025 9:30 PM ET

The Boston Red Sox, now 32-36 on the year, have fallen nine games behind the hated New York Yankees in the American League East. But with over half the season to go, there's still plenty of time to get back into the playoff race - and a new addition should help matters.

Outfielder Roman Anthony, the No. 1 prospect in all of baseball, was recalled by Boston and made his major league debut Monday night. His ranking, plus continued dominance in the minor leagues, means that Anthony carries some lofty expectations.

But is it too much for someone who was below the drinking age this time last month? At least one MLB vet thinks so.

Former National League MVP and World Series Champion Jimmy Rollins joined Bleacher Report's Walkoff Live Tuesday evening to discuss Anthony's promotion and what he can do for the Red Sox.

"It is a lot of pressure to put on a young man," Rollins said. "He has some veterans up there that have been around... To put that pressure on him, I don't think would be fair. You have contracts over there that say the same."

"That said, he's expected to come up and be a sparkplug, to be a difference maker, and sometimes, when you bring a young guy up and he goes off... the veteran players, they become inspired. It's like, 'We can't let this young man down. He's playing well, he's here because they expect him to help we have to do our part.'"

As Rollins stated, Anthony was brought up for a reason, but he is far from the only factor that will determine how Boston's season finishes.

Alex Bregman and Rafael Devers are both among the Top-10 in OPS, while Garrett Crochet is quickly becoming the staff ace the franchise envisioned. Yet the club's depth is a concern: their rotation has a collective 4.59 ERA - 5th worst in MLB - and Bregman, Masataka Yoshida, and Wilyer Abreu are all on the injured list.

Anthony is already making an impact, as he secured his first career hit and pair of RBI Tuesday night...