Roman Anthony Responds to Critical Red Sox Fans on Injury Absence

It's been nearly four months since we've seen Roman Anthony suit up for the Boston Red Sox, but that's about to change.

After hitting his third home run in five games of minor-league rehab on Tuesday, Anthony sure looks like he's ready to play the New York Yankees in the Bronx this weekend. That decision, as of Wednesday morning, has not been made.

Anthony also seems well aware that a narrative has formed since that finger ligament injury he suffered on May 4, given that he missed the final month of last season with an oblique strain and has had other injury scares as well. That was why he had a fairly pointed message for Boston fans on Tuesday evening.

What Anthony said about perceptions of slow recovery

Speaking after an 8-5 win with the Triple-A Worcester Red Sox at Polar Park, Anthony responded to critics, both real and hypothetical, about how long it's taken him to get back.

“I did everything I could,” Anthony said, via Chris Cotillo of MassLive. “I thought I made that clear. I took all the shots (injections) I could, as soon as I could. I tried to do everything to get back on the field. Unfortunately, maybe we pushed too hard. Every time I tried to do that, it may have set me back a little bit. But at the same time, I saw three outside doctors that told me this was a three-month injury. After it all, it took right about that much.

“I don’t have anything to say to anyone or anything to prove to anyone. For me, I’m just excited to get back and play baseball with the guys. People are going to talk regardless — good or bad.”

If we're going to lay blame on anyone here, which may not be necessary, the Red Sox themselves should be in the discussion. In the days after Anthony's injury, they were acting as if he had a good chance to avoid the injured list altogether. There was also a lot of needless confusion about whether he had a sprain or a tear, which ignored the reality that all sprains are tears.

Certainly, the Red Sox have to hope that the 22-year-old they gave $130 million last summer can give them more seasons of at least 100 games than he's shown he can so far. But Anthony is in the right to fend off any misguided narratives that he doesn't want to be out there.

Add us as a preferred source on Google