With Serious Red Sox Injury, Is It Time for the Newly Promoted No. 1 Prospect?

Roman Anthony rose to the top of the MLB Pipeline prospect list Friday with the “graduation” of former No. 1 overall prospect Roki Sasaki of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Now, the question is how long will the soon-to-turn-21 Boston Red Sox prospect remain at the top of the list?

Boston first baseman Triston Casas suffered what manager Alex Cora called a “significant" knee injury in the team’s 6-1 win over the Minnesota Twins on Friday. Cora said postgame that Casas had been taken to the hospital for further testing.

Will Anthony, an outfielder, be the replacement for Casas? Would the Red Sox juggle their lineup to move an outfielder to first base to make way for Anthony?

Before the Casas injury, Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow addressed the issue in an interview with Alex Speier of The Boston Globe.

And the answer was no.

“I think just given [Anthony’s] age, there’s still an opportunity for him to develop in the outfield. Until you feel like that’s in a place where there isn’t just a massive opportunity cost to taking reps away, that’s where he should be focused,” Breslow said. “And also, I think obviously, at some point he’s going to be impacting our major league team, and to throw another variable into the mix probably doesn’t make a ton of sense when that transition in and of itself can be difficult at times.”

The Red Sox do have options to play first base without calling up Anthony and moving the chess pieces.

Speaking on the Red Sox broadcast on WEEI Friday night, team legend Roger Clemens offered up one idea: move designated hitter Rafael Devers to first base. That could, potentially, open a spot for Anthony.

"The Rocket" Roger Clemens joined @WillFlemming and @MikeMonaco_ in the booth and offered up Rafael Devers as an option to play first base after Triston Casas suffered a potentially serious injury earlier in the game.

Photo by Maddie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images pic.twitter.com/wsmkvVEBLm
— WEEI Red Sox Network (@SoxBooth) May 3, 2025

But given what Breslow said Friday – reiterating previous similar comments – Anthony likely will stay put at Triple-A Worcester, where he is hitting .292 (28-96) in 27 games. He has scored 22 times and has 50 total bases with five homers and 16 RBIs.

It might not happen now, but Anthony will be wearing that Red Sox uniform one day soon.

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