Red Sox's Manager Lukewarm on Roman Anthony Return
The Boston Red Sox are patiently awaiting the return of their young star Roman Anthony.
Anthony has now missed seven straight games since injuring his right hand on a swing in Detroit on May 4th. The team was originally hesitant to place him on the 10-day IL after further testing revealed a sprain, but the hope that he would dodge a stint on the injured list disappeared in the following days when pain in the area persisted.
Anthony is eligible to return from the IL on Friday, though reports on his progress have yet to indicate any significant changes to his status. On Wednesday, manager Chad Tracy provided an update to Meredith Perri of MassLive, saying that "Roman's improving."
"Just small, incremental improvements and we'll just keep going until we get to the point where we feel like we're in a good spot."
The outfielder appeared at Fenway Park on his 22nd birthday Wednesday afternoon still wearing a brace protecting the wrist and has yet to swing a bat since the injury. Still, the Red Sox maintain that his return could come at any time.
Roman Anthony wearing a brace pic.twitter.com/VIOhIwknju
— Christopher Smith (@SmittyOnMLB) May 12, 2026
Tracy addressed this possibility in an appearance on WEEI's The Greg Hill Show on Thursday morning.
"It could be this road trip, maybe it isn't," Tracy said. "It just really is a matter of when does this thing feel like the grip's there, [then] let's start to introduce some activities. And based on the fact that he hasn't been down that long, it's not necessarily like this two-week build-up, we just got to see what he can handle and when he can handle it."
As Tracy indicates here, the main obstacle for Anthony has been regaining his grip strength. Given his current inability to grip the bat, it's hard to predict how his hand and wrist will react to the motion and impact of regular swings and at-bats.
But, as Tracy points out, this could all come back very quickly.
"The nature of that injury with basically like a finger tendon, top of the hand, it really is a matter of waiting for it to heal, and that could happen very quickly," he said.
"What is your reasoning on why your offense has struggled?" Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy joins!
— WEEI (@WEEI) May 14, 2026
Who are the veteran leaders on this team? Tracy: "There is a lot"
Greg: When are you expecting/hoping that Roman Anthony is back? #Baseball#RedSox#MLBpic.twitter.com/VKDKHrs5O3
In his absence, the Red Sox are 4-3 but still struggling to produce runs. Outside of Wilyer Abreu and Willson Contreras, Boston's lineup has lacked both power and consistency, desperately needing a stabilizing force at the top of the order with Jarren Duran (.184) and Trevor Story (.211) off to abysmal starts.
Anthony was off to a similarly disappointing start before the injury, slashing just .229/.354/.321 with one home run and five RBI. He looked to be heating up and was riding a four-game hit streak before going down but will have to regain some momentum after his layoff.
The bright side is that once Anthony feels good to resume baseball activities, there should not be many hurdles left for him to clear before getting back on the field. Tracy's comments suggest that a rehab stint is probably not necessary and he could be back in the lineup as soon as the hand feels 100 percent.
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This story was originally published May 14, 2026 at 9:46 AM.