While the Red Sox were able to pull off a dramatic 11-7 victory over the Guardians on Tuesday night, the elephant in the room was the health of star rookie Roman Anthony, who left the game early due to injury. We now know the severity of that ailment. According to manager Alex Cora, Anthony is headed to the 10-day IL with an oblique strain. The expected recovery time is at least a month, which would put Anthony’s availability for a Wild Card series in question.
The former No. 1 prospect in baseball has been a key piece of Boston’s resurgent second half, as Anthony’s slashed .292/.396/.463 with a 138 wRC+ across his first 303 plate appearances at the MLB level. Thanks to a 100th percentile hard hit rate (60.3%), Anthony’s also managed a 93rd percentile barrel rate (15.5%) and a 91st percentile expected wOBA (.382). To be perfectly blunt, this isn’t your average 21-year-old.
The question now becomes: Do the Red Sox have enough pop in their lineup to make a run at the AL East crown? Entering Wednesday’s action, Boston is tied with New York, 2.5 games back of Toronto in the division. The Blue Jays have the tie-breaker over both clubs, as well. Over the last 30 days, even with Anthony on fire, the Red Sox have managed a 103 wRC+, which ranks 16th in the league. For comparison, in the same span, Toronto sits second (137) and the Yankees sit third (126).
Boston is currently +475 to win its division on the DraftKings Sportsbook.
