Roman Anthony Impresses in First Rehab Game

Anthony’s performance on Tuesday was as good as anyone could ask for. More importantly, it checked a major box toward a big-league return. Anthony has not played in an MLB game since suffering his injury on May 4 against the Detroit Tigers.

Although he has struggled to a .229/.354/.321 slash line with a home run and five RBI in a limited 30 games in 2026, Tuesday reminded Red Sox fans of when Anthony looked like a budding superstar in 2025.

Boston’s top prospect last season hit .292 with an .859 OPS, eight home runs, and 32 RBI over 71 games.

While the hype surrounding Anthony has been derailed by injury this season, it is slowly re-emerging with his dominant rehab game on Tuesday.

As for Anthony’s next steps, Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy stated Tuesday that he is scheduled for a hybrid day on Wednesday, during which he may or may not play.

“Tomorrow is already scheduled as a hybrid day where it’s like he’ll possibly play, possibly not,” Tracy said. “We’re just gonna see how he feels because he’s going to have a full day of BP on the field and his first game. We’ll just see how he feels. There’s still times where if he gets a little soreness, is it better to just take that day off and resume the next day? It could go either way.”

If Tuesday is any indication, Anthony will ideally look to keep his momentum going. However, the Red Sox must be cautious with their young star. Having already missed three and a half months between games, the last thing Boston needs is a setback with a major piece in its lineup.

Anthony is one of several offensive players on the injured list. Masataka Yoshida landed on the 10-day injured list on Sunday with a significant left hamstring strain and is possibly done for the regular season.

Elsewhere, Curtis Mead (left wrist fracture) remains out after being hit by a pitch in his Red Sox debut on July 27.

Fortunately, shortstop Trevor Story played his second rehab game for Triple-A Worcester on Tuesday, while infielder Isiah Kiner-Falefa is scheduled to begin a rehab assignment there on Wednesday.

Story has not played since May 14 after undergoing sports hernia surgery, while Kiner-Falefa has not played since June 18 due to a left forearm stress reaction.

Those progressions, along with Anthony’s, indicate that some major lineup reinforcements are set to return for Boston’s postseason push. And if Anthony continues to play as he did on Tuesday, the Red Sox lineup will only grow more formidable.

Entering Wednesday, Boston (68-58) has a comfortable lead over the Texas Rangers (62-64) for the second American League wild-card spot, six games in front of them. They also sit 2.5 games behind the New York Yankees (70-55) for the first wild-card spot.

The Red Sox will look to sweep the Arizona Diamondbacks on Wednesday at 4:10 p.m. ET.