Roman Anthony Just Gave Red Sox Fans Reason to Be Fired Up

These next few days could be explosive for the Boston Red Sox, to say the least.

Boston's most important series of the season so far will begin on Friday as the Red Sox hit the road and begin a four-game series against the rival New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium. Right now, the Yankees have the top American League Wild Card spot and the Red Sox have the No. 2 spot, just 2 1/2 games back. By the end of the series over the weekend, there's a chance that the Red Sox have the top Wild Card spot. There's also a chance that they could dig themselves a hole if things don't go well.

It's going to be a fun weekend, which also could include the return of 22-year-old outfielder Roman Anthony. It's been a long time coming, but Anthony's return is imminent. Whether he returns on Friday, or over the weekend at some point, Anthony's time is coming. He hasn't played in a big league game since May 4, but he has six rehab outings under his belt and he hit two home runs, drove in six runs and slashed .263/.348/.632 with a .979 OPS.

Anthony's imminent return has been talked about for days at this point. If you're a Red Sox fan, you should be excited right now. On Wednesday, he made it clear that he's feeling good, as transcribed by Tommy Cassell of the Worcester T&G Sports.

Roman Anthony's Going To Transform Boston's Lineup

Boston Red Sox left fielder Roman Anthony (19) bats against Detroit Tigers during the first inning at Comerica Park in Detroit on Monday, May 4, 2026. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

"Good. Yeah, I think these are the first two real 9s I've played, so feeling good. Obviously just still got to make sure that everything is really good and where it needs to be before we make a decision and see what'll happen," Anthony said. " ... But as far as right now, everything's good. Just again, trying to continue to get back into that rhythm in the box and outfield and the bases, like just as a complete player."

On top of this, Anthony said that he's "checked all the boxes" and now he's just waiting.

"We've checked all the boxes. So just kind of continuing to, whether it's get at-bats here (in AAA) or go help the [Boston Red Sox], we're going to figure that out. But, obviously not far from impacting the [Red Sox]."

When the Red Sox activate Anthony, whether that is on Friday or later on in the weekend, he's going to give this club a lift. Boston has been the best team in baseball since the end of June. That is because of the sum of its parts. Guys all over the place have stepped up and propelled this team forward. Anthony is a superstar-level player when he's healthy and really going. That lifts the floor of this team even higher.

With Masataka Yoshida on the Injured List, the easy option would be slotting Anthony in as the designated hitter with Jarren Duran still getting plenty of time in left. Duran has started to heat up from the plate. There are tough decisions coming. Mickey Gasper has been a big help for this cluv recently, but he could end up being impacted by the additions. If there's a way to keep him as a bench bat, that would be great. If not, when rosters expand he'd be a candidate to come back.

Last year, Anthony slashed .292/.396/.463 with an .859 OPS, eight home runs, 32 RBIs and 18 doubles in 71 games before he got hurt. Anthony had an absurd 140 OPS+, meaning that he was 40 percent better than the average MLB hitter, despite the fact that he was a rookie. In comparison, Nick Kurtz and Ben Rice are tied for ninth place in baseball this season with an OPS+ of 141. If the Red Sox get the version of Anthony that put the baseball world on notice last season, we're talking about a legit game-changer.

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