Red Sox Might Finally Be Getting Closer to Roman Anthony's Return

We've long since passed the point of hoping for a quick return for Boston Red Sox outfielder Roman Anthony. But on Tuesday, there seemed to be a clear indicator of progress.

Anthony, who last played on May 4, has been nursing a sprained ligament under his right ring finger. Multiple attempts to start progressing toward a return hadn't gone as hoped. But on Tuesday, Anthony took some dry swings, and the Red Sox seemed happy about the results.

Though he still hasn't progressed to hitting live pitching and might not for some time, Anthony's Tuesday report was a good one on the whole. Interim manager Chad Tracy's words are worth dissecting too, but the bottom line is that Anthony is on the mend -- but still with plenty of hurdles to clear.

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Tracy: 'Positive step' for Anthony

May 4, 2026; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Boston Red Sox left fielder Roman Anthony (19) is checked on by interim manager Chad Tracy (17) and the trainer in the first inning against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images | Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images

According to Tracy, Anthony still felt some pain on his wrist extension that would come after the point of contact if he was hitting a ball, but was able to tolerate that pain and get through his 12 to 15 dry swings.

“Not feeling as much in the front end, just a little bit on like the follow through in the back end,” Tracy said, per Christopher Smith of MassLive. “So that’s a positive step. So next step will be same thing tomorrow only increasing the volume of the amount of swings he takes. And we can increase activity as his tolerance dictates, but a step in the right direction for him today.”

The next step, if Anthony comes in on Wednesday and feels no ill effects from the aforementioned dry swings, would be ramping up the volume of dry swings, which still leaves various stages of recovery ahead, like hitting batting practice and against live pitching. That final step, regardless of whatever rehab assignments might come after, is the most crucial -- everything feels different when there's a 95-mph fastball coming at you.

“So as long as he feels good coming into tomorrow, we can increase some volume with that and we’ll just keep progressing as he tolerates,” Tracy added, via Smith.

Hopefully for Red Sox fans, Tuesday was the end of what felt like an excruciating holding pattern, and Anthony's updates keep getting progressively more concrete in terms of a return timeline.

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