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Boston is in a strange situation because it is home to two of the most promising young athletes in professional sports. Drake Maye is the quarterback for the New England Patriots, and Roman Anthony is the outfielder for the Boston Red Sox. Anthony was picked in the second round of the 2022 MLB Draft and has already changed the Red Sox’s fortunes. At the same time, Maye is leading a Patriots offense that has historically been very efficient. Lou Merloni, speaking on NESN’s YouTube channel, offered a clear prediction that has become a point of contention among fans and analysts. “It’s going to be Roman Anthony,” Merloni stated. “There’s no question about it. I do think Roman Anthony is going to be an all-star his whole career. If Drake Maye continues on this same path and is a legitimate MVP candidate each and every football season, we know they’ll both own the town,” Merloni accepted. The admission dismisses Maye’s great start to his NFL career. He is currently fifth in passing yards with 2,285, tied for third in touchdowns with 17, and leads the league in completion percentage at 74.1%. He is one of the top five most efficient quarterbacks in the league, with a passer rating of 116.9 and a QBR of 74.0. This level of consistency is hard to find in any quarterback. But Merloni’s faith in Anthony doesn’t seem to come from their similar production; it seems to come from the paths both players have taken. Anthony’s rise to fame has really changed the Red Sox. The team went 45-46 without him and 44-27 in the 71 games he played, which shows how much of a difference he made right away. Anthony’s season ended early because he hurt his left oblique, which kept him out for the last month and the playoffs. Without him, the Red Sox lost to the New York Yankees 2-1 in the AL wild card round. Boston subsequently rewarded the rookie left-handed slugger with an eight-year, $130 million contract extension. He had a .292 batting average, a .396 on-base percentage, and an OPS of .859 with eight home runs and 32 RBIs. Meanwhile, the team recently had to deal with a tricky situation with third baseman Alex Bregman. He turned down his three-year, $120 million deal this week after Boston won a bidding war with Detroit last offseason. That contract had a lot of deferred money and a way for Bregman to get out of it, which is what let him leave. The Red Sox don’t know if they should re-sign the aging infielder or go after younger players like Marcelo Mayer. Read Top Stories First From EssentiallySports Click here and check box next to EssentiallySports This pattern of player movement and organizational restructuring shows that Boston is serious about keeping its young stars. They have done this with Anthony, but they may not do the same for aged players who may get worse. Red Sox works to anchor their pitching future The Boston Red Sox are building their roster around young players, but they need to add to their pitching rotation right away. Garrett Crochet’s arrival at the trade deadline changed everything. He had the best strikeout rate in baseball, with 255 strikeouts, an 18-5 record, and a 2.59 ERA over 32 starts. Even though the staff has the fourth-best ERA in MLB at 3.70, depth is still a big worry. Boston’s rotation isn’t very good after Crochet and Brayan Bello. Lucas Giolito’s opt-out took away their third-best arm, which made things more urgent for young prospects like Payton Tolle and Connelly Early, who can’t fix things right away. Using a lot of inexperienced pitchers during a playoff push is very risky, so the organization has to focus on outside solutions. The Red Sox have identified their path forward through acquisition rather than internal development. “The Red Sox are focused on adding starting pitching, and they have plenty of prospects in their strong farm system to perhaps trade for top arms like Tarik Skubal, Hunter Greene, or Freddy Peralta,” The Athletic’s Jim Bowden reported, noting that “trading for a top-tier starter is their preferred route.” Detroit’s Tarik Skubal emerges as a primary target, though Freddy Peralta and Hunter Greene present equally interesting alternatives. Boston has the money and capital to make big trades for top starting pitchers. Their strong farm system gives them the tools they need to compete for the same, which lets them keep the momentum going that got them back to the playoffs and build a long-term contender for their young core.
