Roman Anthony has been sidelined with a left oblique strain since September. But recently, during an MLB Network interview at the Winter Meetings, Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora delivered the update that Red Sox fans had been hoping for: his rookie phenom is fully healthy.
"Yeah, he’s fully healthy. If we had a game tomorrow, he would be leading off or hitting second for us."Alex Cora
For a team looking to take a step forward under Cora’s leadership, getting Anthony back is massive. Before the injury, the rookie phenom was everything the organization envisioned and more. When Anthony was in the lineup, he showed exactly why he entered the season as the No. 1 prospect in all of baseball. In 72 games, he looked like a franchise cornerstone, batting .292 with eight home runs and 32 RBIs, while consistently giving Boston competitive at-bats at the top of the lineup.
And his game is far from one-dimensional. One area of Anthony’s game that goes unnoticed is his fielding ability, committing only one error across 54 games in the field. During his MLB Network interview, Cora made sure to highlight that side of Anthony’s development.
"The one thing he does, he takes care of the defensive part of it… Not too many people knew about his defense. He was a plus-5 defender playing left field and right field at Fenway Park."Alex Cora
If it weren’t for a pair of Oakland Athletics’ rookies, Anthony likely would have taken home American League Rookie of the Year honors. Even finishing third underscores just how impactful he was in a limited time, and how the sky is the limit.
Now, the question becomes what the Red Sox will do to put talent around him. So far this offseason, the Red Sox have chosen to bolster their pitching rotation by adding former St. Louis Cardinal Sonny Gray and former Pittsburgh Pirate Johan Oviedo. Those moves were necessary, but the lineup still needs help, and getting another big bat to pair with Anthony should be at the top of the offseason agenda.
As the Winter Meetings continue, the hope is that Chief Baseball Officer Craig Breslow can acquire at least one marquee bat to add to the lineup and give Anthony the protection he deserves. Anthony is healthy, he’s ascending, and he’s ready to take the next step to superstardom. Now it’s on the front office to build the kind of lineup that lets him thrive.