Red Sox's Roman Anthony Doesn't Sugarcoat Long IL Stint: 'Everything Sucks'

The Boston Red Sox have been without the services of their top offensive weapon for just about two months at this point with no end in sight.

It's been a tough year for young outfielder Roman Anthony, to say the least. The 22-year-old entered the 2026 season with massive expectations. Before the season began, there were people around the league predicting that Anthony could even win the American League Most Valuable Player Award this season. That's how talented he is and how highly he is viewed across the league. But it just hasn't been smooth sailing for him.

Anthony was great in the World Baseball Classic for Team USA, but the good times didn't carry over to the regular season. He missed time early on with some back pain. It took him a bit to get his groove back and he was finally starting to look like himself again only to suffer an extremely rare hand/wrist injury that has knocked him out of action since May 4. Anthony has been dealing with a partially torn ring finger CMC ligament that is so rare that Alex Speier of The Boston Globe shared a quote from Dr. Mark Cohen of Midwest Orthopaedics at Rush University in which he noted that he had never heard of an injury like Anthony's in 32 years of work.

It's unfortunate and unlucky and he's working his way back. On Monday, he joined Rob Bradford on the "Baseball Isn't Boring" podcast and gave an update on where he stands right now.

The Red Sox Are Missing Their Young Star

Apr 18, 2026; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Red Sox left fielder Roman Anthony (19) hits a single during the sixth inning against the Detroit Tigers at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images | Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images

“It’s been a long, long slow process,” Anthony said. “Everything sucks, to be honest. The team leaves on the road, and it’s like, ‘Dang, I miss being around the guys.’ You have two days where you feel like it’s encouraging, then you have a really (expletive) two days, and you’re like, ‘Oh, man, where am I at?’”

"... It’s the same kind of coming through, as I push through and kind of extend through in a sense,” Anthony continued. “I’m seeing progress and it feels like it’s getting stronger. Feeling like I got more there to kind of support the hand and then the ring finger. So, positive in that sense."

The fact that Anthony noted that he's seeing progress is obviously positive and a silver lining in what has been an otherwise murky season for the young outfielder.

The Red Sox, who have been struggling all season to this point, finally showed a sign of life over the weekend by sweeping a four-game series against the New York Yankees. Right now, the Red Sox are 10 games under .500 and 4 1/2 games out of a playoff spot. Anthony is the piece this offense is missing. Hopefully, he's able to return before this season is fully lost.

The Red Sox have five weeks to go until the trade deadline. If the Red Sox can't inch closer to .500, we're going to end up seeing guys like Aroldis Chapman or Sonny Gray potentially get moved. The unfortunate thing about that is the fact that the Red Sox's rotation is so good that it could compete against anyone, and it doesn't even have Garrett Crochet right now. Boston has racked up 11 straight quality starts. That's insane. This rotation could give Boston a puncher's chance against anyone, but the offense needs to follow.

Hopefully, Anthony is able to continue to make progress and get a concrete timeline in the near future. Boston needs him and his bat.

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