It was only a matter of time before Roman Anthony officially joined the Boston Red Sox.
The Red Sox called up Anthony, who is MLB Pipeline’s top prospect in the sport, on Monday afternoon, the team confirmed. Anthony is expected to join the team Monday, when the Red Sox kick off a three-game series with the Tampa Bay Rays at Fenway Park.
Anthony will play right field and bat fifth in the lineup on Monday night, manager Alex Cora confirmed. The decision to bring Anthony up now came together quickly, he said, especially after the team lost Wilyer Abreu to the 10-day injured list.
“We’re trying to win ball games, and the kid has done an amazing job … just getting ready for htis moment,” Cora said, via MLB.com. “Obviously not the way you want, right? Because Wilyer is great player, great defender, good at-bat, but [Anthony will] be here. We’re excited. It’s a big day for the organization.”
The 21-year-old outfielder entered the season as one of the best prospects in the sport, but he remained in the minors for the first few months of the season. He more than proved his worth Friday, though, when he hit a grand slam that traveled nearly 500 feet with the Red Sox’s Triple-A affiliate. The 497-foot blast in the eighth inning of the Worcester Red Sox’s matchup against the Rochester Red Wings was the longest home run hit in the minors and Major League Baseball this season, and it would have been the fifth-longest home run in MLB since 2015.
Several of the sport’s best players — including Aaron Judge, Shohei Ohtani, Fernando Tatis Jr. and others — have never hit a ball that far. It was also less than 10 feet off the Statcast record.
Anthony held a .288 batting average and had 10 home runs with 29 RBIs in 58 games with Worcester this season. He is the third big-time prospect the Red Sox have called up this season, following Kristian Campbell and Marcelo Mayer.
“We’ll use him the right way and we’ll help him with the adjustments that come of being a big leaguer,” Cora said. “But I think as far as being a person, just being around him in spring training and all that, he’s a mature kid, he understands his craft, wants to get better. There’s a few things that we still believe he needs to improve, but we’ll help him here. I think he’s going to be OK.”
The Red Sox enter Monday’s series with the Rays with a 32-35 record, which has them fourth in the AL East standings. While they’ve won three of their past four games, including two against the New York Yankees, the Red Sox have a ways to go after their slow start to the 2025 campaign. Time will tell if Anthony can provide a big enough boost to get them to their first postseason appearance since 2021.