Roman Anthony’s Biggest Issue, Straight From Red Sox's Kyle Hudson

The Boston Red Sox outfield has been struggling in the outfield to kick off the 2026 Major League Baseball season.

Apr 1, 2026; Houston, Texas, USA; Boston Red Sox pinch hitter Roman Anthony (19) crosses home plate after hitting a home run against the Houston Astros during the ninth inning at Daikin Park. Mandatory Credit: Erik Williams-Imagn Images | Erik Williams-Imagn Images

One thing that has been a bit surprising for the Boston Red Sox so far this season has been the defense from Roman Anthony out in the outfield.

Anthony had a key error on Monday night against the Milwaukee Brewers. With two outs in the eighth inning, Anthony fielded a ball out in left field and threw it to the backstop. Two runs scored on the play and Boston would end up losing, 8-6.

Teams continue to run on Roman Anthonypic.twitter.com/Ej10oGQ9qx

— Underdog MLB (@UnderdogMLB) April 7, 2026

After the game on Monday, Anthony opened up about the play and called it a "terrible" throw and said it was "bad baseball." But what is wrong with Anthony?

Everything is going to be alright with Roman Anthony

Mar 26, 2026; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Boston Red Sox left fielder Roman Anthony (19) scores on a RBI single hit by designated hitter Jarren Duran (not pictured) in the ninth inning against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park. Mandatory Credit: Katie Stratman-Imagn Images | Katie Stratman-Imagn Images

Red Sox third base coach/outfield instructor Kyle Hudson opened up and noted that he believes the issue is "lower-half" related right now, as shared by MassLive.com's Chris Cotillo.

"It’s lower-half related, in my opinion,” Hudson said to Cotillo. “The arm strength is there. His arm strength is actually up from last year. The mechanical side of it, his lower half, has put him in a tough position to maximize that arm strength he has. It’s something we constantly work on. He’s working through it.

“When I look at it, the lower half is putting him in a bad position. He’s starting to throw across his body right now, especially on the one last night. He was very closed off on that one. Anybody that gets in that position and tries to make a throw in the direction he was trying to make a throw, it’s not going to end up very well.”

Anthony is in the third percentile in arm value so far this season. It's important to note that he is in the 68th percentile in outs above average, though. Sure, the throw was brutal. He acknowledged that and everyone else has as well. Opinions have come in left and right. But he's going to be alright. Hudson identified the problem. Now, we'll see how they respond. It was a tough play, but he'll be better in the long run.

Enough has been said about the play. Fortunately, the Red Sox have five very solid outfielders in Anthony, Wilyer Abreu, Masataka Yoshida, Jarren Duran and Ceddanne Rafaela. Boston has the luxury that it could have Anthony get an extended look as DH and work behind the scenes on his throwing and really not impact the outfield much in the short term. Everything is going to be alright.