Roman Anthony Bluntly Criticizes His Performance Before Hand Injury

Anthony will be out to make amends when he returns...

iMay 3, 2026; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Red Sox designated hitter Roman Anthony (19) warms-up before batting against the Houston Astros during the first inning at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-Imagn Images | Eric Canha-Imagn Images

Roman Anthony being injured as been one of the biggest letdowns of the season for the Boston Red Sox thus far. But even when he was playing, he wasn't the player he hoped he'd be.

In 30 games, Anthony put up a .229/.354/.321 slash line, one home run, and just five RBIs. His defense was grading out very well, even with a few bad throws early in the season proving costly, but he simply wasn't making the kind of offensive impact that the Red Sox were counting on getting.

While the Red Sox await Anthony's reassessment on Friday, which will help dictate his return-to-play timeline, it's worth noting that the 22-year-old isn't happy with the way he was performing in the first place, which means he'll be looking for vengeance upon return.

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What Anthony said about early-season performance

Apr 27, 2026; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Boston Red Sox designated hitter Roman Anthony (19) hits an RBI single against the Toronto Blue Jays in the fifth inning at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images | Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images

During an interview with The Boston Globe that was published on Thursday, Anthony made it clear that before he sprained a ligament at the base of his right ring finger, his stat line was far from where he wanted it to be.

“Kind of a letdown, honestly,” Anthony told Speier. “Short sample size, but I wasn’t where I wanted to be.”

Anthony also had something of a diagnosis. He was taking too many good pitches to hit (something a lot of Red Sox fans could see early on), but also swinging at too many "pitcher's pitches" that were either right on the edges of the zone or just outside it.

“When I’m at my best, my swing decisions are great,” he told Speier. “When you’re swinging at good pitches, you have a better chance of hitting the ball in the air, and you have a better chance of doing what you want to do.”

Even if he was putting up the same stat line he had in those first 30 games, the Red Sox would be a slightly better team with Anthony than they are now without him. But they know there's another gear in there, and the sooner he comes back, the better the chances of him unlocking that gear in time to help them in the standings.