Why Can't the Boston Red Sox Call-Up Top Prospect Roman Anthony?

He's also carrying a .423 on-base percentage and an .899 OPS, as he's got five homers, 17 RBIs and three stolen bases. His overall numbers and his underlying metrics suggest that he's ready for the big leagues, so why is he still in Triple-A?

The answer is really simple: It's roster construction, on a few different fronts.

The outfield is full

The Red Sox have Jarren Duran, who is the reigning All-Star Game MVP and one of the more exciting players in baseball. They also have Ceddanne Rafaela, a Gold Glove-caliber defender, and someone they recently gave a $50 million extension to. Furthermore, Wilyer Abreu is out there, and he's off to a fantastic start, hitting .279 with 10 homers and a .931 OPS.

There's simply no one to easily move, and that doesn't factor in bench player Rob Refsnyder's presence, as well as the injured Masataka Yoshida, who has $54 million remaining on his contract.

What about designated hitter?

As you've likely read by now, the Red Sox have fumbled this situation. Rafael Devers was moved from third base to designated hitter to accommodate the signing of Alex Bregman in the offseason. He doesn't want to move to first base now, meaning that the DH position is stuck. They already have enough of a hassle on their hands when Yoshida comes back, they can't deal with the stress of finding Anthony at-bats too. Because once Anthony comes up, they likely want to keep him up for good, and they want him to get consistent playing time.

What should Boston have done?

The Red Sox went out and acquired Garrett Crochet this offseason, but maybe instead of signing Walker Buehler, they should have dealt an outfielder for a second pitcher to open up a spot for Anthony? Could they have traded Abreu somewhere considering he's on a rookie contract still?

What if they didn't sign Bregman? Devers could have remained at third and Anthony would have had another pathway to playing time, especially with Yoshida out.

So what's next?

In all likelihood, Anthony will have to wait for an injury, or for the team to decide that Raffaela's defense and big contract no longer warrant him playing every day. He's hitting .242 with an OPS+ of 86 entering play on Monday.