Craig Breslow Hints At Whether Red Sox Will Replace Triston Casas With Roman Anthony

Boston Red Sox fans and media are in full mania over number-one prospect Roman Anthony, and it's easy to see why.

The 20-year-old outfielder has been going gangbusters, blasting two home runs, including a grand slam, on Thursday. That raised his OPS to 1.018 through 15 games in Triple-A, while barreling balls at nearly a 40 percent clip.

The Red Sox could conceivably bring Anthony to the major league roster at any time, but chief baseball officer Craig Breslow has to weigh several factors, including Anthony's minor shoulder soreness that's currently keeping him from playing the outfield and ensuring they don't lose a year of team control if he finishes top-two in Rookie of the Year voting.

During an appearance on The Greg Hill Show on WEEI, Breslow was asked Thursday about the timeline for calling Anthony up to the big-league club, to which he gave a response without many specifics.

“How long can you allow the ‘full-mash’ of Roman Anthony to be wasted in Worcester?” asked host Greg Hill.

“Yeah, well I don’t think we want to waste anything,” said Breslow. “You know, I think what we want to make sure is that when Roman comes to the big leagues, he’s able to step in and be successful. That there is clear opportunity for him to get the runway that he’ll need as a 20-year-old.

“I think there are still some development opportunities that he is tackling in Worcester right now, but we are really excited about what Roman has done thus far, and what we think he’s capable of.”

Then, Breslow was asked a question that has been popular in some corners of the Red Sox universe, but is frankly a bit ludicrous.

"Should Triston Casas’ struggles continue, what is more likely - (Rafael) Devers at first, or Roman Anthony at first?” asked host Chris Curtis.

“I mean, I think what we will do is everything in our power to ensure that Triston’s struggles don’t continue.” Breslow responded.

Anthony can provide far more value as an outfielder than a first baseman, and writing off Casas after less than 100 at-bats this season is a panic move. The 25-year-old slugger still has well above-average numbers as a big leaguer and could find his groove any day.

Even if Casas' struggles get so bad for so long that he has to be benched for a while, Anthony isn't the solution. Great outfielders should play the outfield, and the Red Sox have to play their future stars at the positions where they'll provide the most value over the course of several years.

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