The team that first comes to mind when talking about the promotion of the rookies is the Red Sox. Starting from Kristian Campbell to Marcelo Mayer to Roman Anthony, the Red Sox have never shied away from pushing their rookies to the major scene. And among this group, Anthony came out as the best the Red Sox can get. Since entering MLB, he’s hitting .292/.396/.463 with 8 HRs, 32 RBIs, and an .859 OPS. Thus, proved exactly why he entered 2025 as Boston’s top prospect.

Unfortunately, the momentum hit a snag. Anthony went down with an oblique strain in the fourth inning of Tuesday’s win over the Guardians and is now expected to miss four to six weeks. Best-case scenario, the 21-year-old could be back in time for the wild-card series. Only if the Red Sox make it that far. However, the story doesn’t end here. If the latest report is to be believed, Anthony might even miss the postseason with the Red Sox!

“It’s just awfully hard to imagine him being ready to go by the time the Red Sox’ playoff debut rolls around, especially considering that the imminent end of the Minor League season will leave the outfielder without a place to rehab against live competition once he’s healthy enough to return to the field,” Fansided’s Chris Landers said.

Now, this is something unthinkable for the Red Sox.

The IL protocol says that the players activated from the IL would go through the rehab games in the minors before getting back to the MLB clubhouse. For Anthony, if his IL extends to six weeks, he will be ready by the middle of the ALCS, but rehab? The minor league season will be all over by then, and there’s no chance of rehabbing for him. In that case, he needs to directly get into the Red Sox clubhouse from the IL. As per Landers, that’s also not possible.

“Keeping him on the roster cold as a potential pinch-hit option feels like a waste of a spot, though, no matter how good he’s been,” Landers added. So, for the Red Sox, it’s better to have someone already in the major league scene to continue over Anthony. Because Anthony might not be able to take the challenge directly from the IL. Anyway it is, the Red Sox might be on the verge of missing their top prospect just when the team needed him the most.

Anthony would be too costly to lose for the Red Sox

“Obviously, losing Roman [Anthony] today is a gut punch. One of the best players in all of baseball. But we gotta continue to push along,” Alex Bregman said about Anthony after his injury against the Guardians.

Bregman isn’t worried about Anthony’s injury, stressing that overreacting could hurt the Red Sox more than help. Instead, he wants the team to trust their preparation and depth. With his postseason and World Series experience, Bregman will be key as Boston faces a true test without one of its most reliable hitters.

As of now, things are surely not looking good for the Red Sox since Anthony’s injury.

Reportedly, till Saturday, they’d hit just .226 with a .639 OPS over eight games since Anthony went down on Sept. 2, posting a 3-5 record in that stretch. And just when you thought that’s the worst, more to come! The Red Sox are just 2-for-24 with runners in scoring position over their last two games. So, as Bregman has said, injury is inevitable, and the team needs to rise to the occasion to deal with Anthony’s absence.

That being said, the postseason is looking like a tough nut to crack for the Red Sox.