Red Sox's First Roster Move After Roman Anthony Injury Is Painful Wakeup Call

There's no one who can replace what Anthony was doing...

Aug 22, 2025; Bronx, New York, USA; Boston Red Sox right fielder Roman Anthony (19) after an at bat against the New York Yankees during the first inning at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images | Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images

To be frank, there wasn't a move the Boston Red Sox could make after sending Roman Anthony to the injured list that was going to soften the blow even a little.

On the same day that Anthony was announced as the American League Rookie of the Month for August, manager Alex Cora confirmed on WEEI that the 21-year-old is going on the injured list with an oblique strain. The estimated timetable Cora gave for his return was four to six weeks.

The Red Sox are also likely to call up infielder Nick Sogard in Anthony's absence, according to a report from MassLive's Chris Cotillo.

Sogard for Anthony highlights Red Sox's misfortune

To state the obvious, Sogard isn't Anthony. In fact, no one is, because the youngster put up 3.1 bWAR and an .859 OPS in 77 games in the big leagues. Sogard, 27, has a career .646 OPS in 49 games.

On the day Anthony was selected from Triple-A, the Red Sox were 32-35. They've gone 42-26 since, and though it there may not be 100% correlation between the youngster's arrival and the team taking off like a fighter jet, that number is certainly much higher than zero.

“He’s one of our best offensive players,” Cora said during his WEEI appearance. “It sounds harsh, but we have to move on. We’ve got to put that uniform on today and try to win a game.

“We’ve been through this before. There’s been a lot of stuff with this team and we’ve been able to keep going so I expect the group to keep doing the same thing.”

Sogard is a useful 12th or 13th man on a roster. But to keep pace in the division, and even to secure a top wild card spot without Anthony, the Red Sox are going to need much, much more from a group of core players on the roster, many of whom were already doing well.

Alex Bregman has to emerge from his two-week slump and get back to producing like a superstar. Trevor Story will need to stay hot. Jarren Duran will need to get all the way back to the All-Star version of himself, probably back in the leadoff spot due to Anthony's absence.

More MLB: Red Sox 8-Time All-Star Wins Reliever Of The Month For 0.00 ERA In August