The Boston Red Sox picked up a much-needed win over the New York Yankees on Saturday night. But the timeline for Roman Anthony’s call-up continues to overshadow anything the team is doing at the major league level.
The top prospect in baseball according to MLB Pipeline, Anthony has appeared ready to be called up for weeks, hitting .290/.421/.495 with 10 home runs and 29 RBI at Triple-A Worcester. While Red Sox president of baseball operations Craig Breslow has cited Anthony’s development, the delivered another message that he’s ready for the show on Saturday night.
Roman Anthony’s 497-Foot Grand Slam is Another Sign Red Sox Should Call Him Up
Anthony starred in the Woo Sox’s 10-4 victory over the Rochester Red Wings, going 1-for-4 at the plate with a walk and a strikeout. The hit was a massive one, however, as Anthony crushed a 497-foot, grand slam to break the game open in the bottom of the eighth inning.
Roman Anthony, Grand Salami.
— Boston Strong (@BostonStrong_34) June 8, 2025
pic.twitter.com/nTO4fS0hBA
According to Statcast, Anthony’s grand slam was the longest home run in affiliated baseball at any level in 2025. ESPN adds that only one home run has traveled over 475 feet this season – a 484-foot bomb by Mike Trout against the San Francisco Giants on April 19 – and only four home runs have been hit a further distance since Statcast began collecting major league data in 2015.
Still, it doesn’t appear that Anthony’s call-up is on the horizon. Breslow pushed back on the idea that Anthony was ready for the majors and stressed the importance of continuing his development during an interview on WEEI’s “The Greg Hill Show” on May 29.
“We need to be mindful of the environment that Roman would be coming into, and the pressure we’d be putting on a 21-year-old…to come up and save the team,” Breslow said. “Roman’s time is coming and I don’t think there’s any question about that. So we have to figure out what is best for the organization and what is best for him.”
In terms of the organization, it appears the Red Sox could use Anthony. Even with Saturday’s win, the Red Sox are closer to the last-place Baltimore Orioles than they are to the Yankees in the American League East standings. Boston has also been scuffling with a 6-17 record in one-run games and the temperature has been turned up on Alex Cora despite signing a three-year contract extension one year ago.
Anthony is doing his best to turn up the pressure on the Red Sox’ front office and it’s become a question of when he will force his way to the majors.