Red Sox have a big Roman Anthony decision to make after dominant rehab debut originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Boston Red Sox have been arguably the best story in baseball for the 2026 season. They went from being one of the worst teams in the MLB, to being a top team in the AL, sitting comfortably in the Wild Card.
They’ve also done all of this without their rookie sensation from last year, Roman Anthony. Anthony went down back in April with a torn ligament in his ring finger, an injury that perplexed MLB doctors, as it really had never happened before.
Now, Anthony is in rehab at AA Portland, where he immediately dominated in his debut. So, people are split on whether the Sox should rush Anthony back to the fray, or make sure he’s 100% ready before returning him to the big leagues.
Anthony had an explosive start to rehabRick Osentoski-Imagn Images
When it’s said Anthony dominated in his debut, he dominated in his debut. In four at-bats, Anthony went 2-2 with a single, a first pitch no-doubter home run, and two walks.
With that in mind, fans are quite ok with the idea of rushing Anthony back to Boston. He, at the minimum, would be an upgrade over Jarren Duran in left field, and would be able to draw walks as a leadoff hitter.
Boston has had trouble with rushing players © Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
On the flip side, Boston has already had some trouble with rushing players back from injury this season. Romy Gonzalez is the first example of this, as he had no prior play time this season before his couple of rehab games, so when he had an extremely cold start to MLB play, he was sent right back down to AAA.
Another example would be Adley Rutschman, who the Sox acquired at the trade deadline to be their big splash. He only had two rehab games, and when he joined Boston, he went 1-18 in his first 18 at-bats. However, since then, he’s acclimated, and has been a solid part of Boston’s roster.
Because of those examples, there are fans who are in opposition to rushing Anthony as well.
Should Boston rush Anthony?Eric Canha - Imagn Images
So, should Anthony come back ASAP? Honestly, probably yes. Unlike Gonzalez and like Rutschman, Anthony has played baseball this season before his injury: in the WBC, Spring Training, and a month of MLB play.
Additionally, Anthony is already crushing his rehab, where both Gonzalez and Rutschman were just adequate. If Boston is going to make a deep October run, getting their young franchise star as ready as possible at the MLB-level is something they need to do.
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