It is not always common for the front offices in MLB to publicly acknowledge their mistake. But after what the Red Sox CEO, Sam Kennedy, admitted about Roman Anthony, fans should demand more than just a public mea culpa. Anthony was a breakout star last year, hitting .292/.396/.463 with 8 HRs. This year, though, his momentum was halted after he suffered an injury on May 4. Initially, it was reported as a right wrist sprain, but it now comes out worse than that.

Surprisingly, the Red Sox front office underestimated Anthony’s injury and botched his scheduled return.

“Well, listen, I need to own up to my mistake,” Kennedy said via WEEI’s ‘The Greg Hill Show’ on Thursday. “I mean, I was unequivocal in my response to you regarding Roman and his situation. Apparently, I missed that day at Harvard Medical School. I shouldn’t be sitting here talking about a sprain. A sprain is a tear. I was reading off of a report that identified the sprain…So, I apologize for my mistake there. I’ve communicated with Roman about that. That’s all good. Most important is he’s doing the work to get back.”

Anthony started the year on a moderate tone. Till his last game on May 4, he was hitting .229/.354/.321 with one home run and five runs batted in across 30 games. Anthony, although he struggled at the plate, could have been the missing link for the Red Sox’s current struggle. However, while injury is part of a 162-game season, botching it up and missing the player for a longer time is unexpected.

What initially was believed to be a sprained ligament in his right ring finger came out as a “partially torn ring finger ligament.” “I don’t know if it’s made clear, but it’s a partially torn ring finger ligament. My ring finger CMC (carpometacarpal), to be exact,” Anthony said on May 29. However, the Red Sox front office kept dismissing speculations. Kennedy publicly denied reports of a torn ligament. “He’s got a sprain in the ligament at the base of the ring finger; there’s no evidence of the tear,” Kennedy said.

There’s no scheduled timeline updated by the team about Anthony’s return.

Anthony signed an eight-year, $130 million contract extension with the Red Sox. With such a long-term injury in his sophomore season, Boston not only lost out on a huge contract, but also missed out on the punch their offense desperately needs now.

The Red Sox are currently standing with a 27-39 record and a 13.5-game deficit behind the table-topper Tampa Bay Rays. They are ranked 29th in terms of total runs (258) and 30th in terms of hitting home runs (52). A .292 hitter from last year would have worked wonders, but the front office botched it up. And Anthony is not the only one the Red Sox mismanaged.

The Red Sox’s injuries are turning out worse.

Similar to Roman Anthony, the Red Sox mismanaged Garrett Crochet’s injury also. Crochet entered a 60-day IL on June 5, but on Wednesday, he updated that his injury “is a lot worse than what we thought” initially. He was diagnosed with a left shoulder lat strain and left shoulder inflammation. Although initially diagnosed as minor, now there’s no clear timetable for when he can even resume playing.

“Unfortunately, he’s dealing with a lat issue,” Kennedy said. “I’ll stop there. If anything, I learn from my mistakes in terms of putting timetables and getting into details.” However, with the All-Star break around the corner, the Red Sox have limited time to rebound from their current slump. Last year, Crochet had an 18-5 record, a 2.59 ERA, and 255 strikeouts across 32 starts. Currently, the Red Sox are ranked 11th in terms of ERA (3.93); Crochet’s presence could have worked wonders.

In addition, names like Tanner Houck, Kutter Crawford, and Triston Casas in the IL are just making things difficult for the team. Kennedy apologized for botching up, but it’s far away from saving the team from disaster.