The Boston Red Sox started the year as a serious postseason contender after making some big moves in the offseason market. Moreover, their young, talented team was set to be bolstered by a crop of elite prospects waiting in the wings.
Yet, the Red Sox are seemingly at a major crossroads after a disappointing opening two months of the season. Their campaign could potentially turn into a disaster over the next few weeks if the situation is not addressed as soon as possible.
Red Sox May End Up Regretting a Late Call Up for Roman Anthony, says MLB insider
The nine-time World Series champions are having their worst run of the season despite winning the last game against the Los Angeles Angels. Not only did they lose the series to the Angels at home, but they have only earned three wins from their past 10 games.
Amid all the injuries and subpar results, the calls are getting louder from the Red Sox fanbase to bring up Roman Anthony to their MLB roster as well. The 21-year-old outfielder has been tearing it up in Triple-A this year, holding a .291/.422/.485 slash line with nine home runs and 25 RBIs.
MLB insider Jeff Passan of ESPN believes the Red Sox might end up regretting not calling up their top prospect in the immediate future. He feels Anthony might be the difference between the team reaching the postseason and narrowly falling short of their objectives.
“It’s probably going to take 85 to 87 wins to get that last playoff spot. And every day Roman Anthony is not in the big leagues, that’s a day he could have won a game for this team,” Passan told the Section 10 podcast on Thursday.
“Every day he hits a home run in Worcester in the ninth inning to walk it off, whatever it is, that’s a day he could’ve been doing it for the Boston Red Sox. If at the end of the year they fall two or three games short of the playoffs, God forbid one game short, they’re going to look back and say, ‘What a wasted opportunity that was’.”
“Every day Roman Anthony’s not in the big leagues that’s a day that he could have won a game for this team.”@JeffPassan questions the lack of urgency from the Red Sox to call up Roman Anthony. pic.twitter.com/p8lIdEW1x8
— Section 10 Podcast (@Section10Pod) June 5, 2025
The poor stretch started after Alex Bregman landed on the IL at the back end of May due to a right quad strain. The former Houston Astros third baseman had made a huge impact for the team since signing a three-year, $120 million deal during spring training.
Injuries had already rattled their roster, with several key members missing from their pitching staff. First baseman Triston Casas was ruled out for the season with a serious knee injury in early May, which threw their defensive alignment out of balance.
The situation turned into a full-blown crisis after Rafael Devers refused to occupy the vacant first base role for the rest of the year. He was shifted out of third base following the arrival of Bregman and had reluctantly accepted the role of a full-time DH.
Therefore, the Red Sox were forced to call up Marcelo Mayer from Triple-A Worcester to fill up the hole in their infield. They promoted his teammate, Kristian Campbell to the Opening Day roster before tying him up to an eight-year, $60 million contract extension.
MORE: Red Sox Broadcaster Clears the Air on Roman Anthony Promotion Dilemma That’s Dividing Fans
At the moment, the Red Sox are in fourth spot in the American League East standings with a 30-34 record. They have a 9.5-game deficit to the division leaders, the New York Yankees, while they are four games behind in the wild card race.