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The Boston Red Sox will long be wondering how their wild card series against the New York Yankees might have turned out if their 21-year-old rookie star Roman Anthony had been able to play. Red Sox pitching held the Yankees to just nine runs over the three-game series — but Boston hitters produced only six, and in the final, deciding game, they were shut out. The Red Sox had been shut out only four times all season. NEW YORK, NEW YORK – AUGUST 21: Roman Anthony #19 of the Boston Red Sox hits a two-run home run in the ninth inning against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium on August 21, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) Would Anthony have made a difference? Of course, the answer to that hypothetical will never be known. What can be known is that the rookie star and former No. 1 overall prospect in baseball left a Sept. 2 game against the Cleveland Guardians and was out for the remainder of the season — and in September, the Red Sox’ run production fell off notably. The Red Sox scored just 4.5 runs per game in their 24 September contests, of which Anthony played only two. Compare that to the previous three months in which the rookie, called up to Boston on June 9, played 69 of the team’s 78 games and the Red Sox averaged 5.1 runs per game. More MLB: Red-Hot Red Sox Prospect Putting Up Aaron Judge Numbers But Remains in Minors The Anthony effect certainly looks real, but will the Red Sox have to worry next season, with Anthony suffering his season-ending oblique strain? Sports medicine specialist Dr. Sebastian Gonzales calls oblique strains “the worst baseball injury ever.” Speaking at the annual general managers’ meetings in Las Vegas on Monday, Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow answered that question directly, and his response brought good news for the Boston offense — and for Red Sox fans. More than two months after suffering his left oblique strain, and nearly six weeks since the Red Sox were eliminated from the postseason by the Yankees, Anthony is now “completely asymptomatic,” Breslow said, as quoted by MassLive reporter Christopher Smith. Revealing that Anthony is expected to go through his offseason conditioning and preparations with no restrictions, Breslow said that the West Palm Beach, Florida, native “should start swinging in a couple of weeks, which is just normal for his offseason.” Breslow, however, declined to speculate on whether Anthony would have been available had the Red Sox somehow survived the American League playoffs and made it to the World Series. Anthony finished third in AL Rookie of the Year voting, behind unanimous winner Nick Kurtz of the Athletics, and another player for the team now based in West Sacramento, California, shortstop Jacob Wilson. Kurtz played 117 games this year, Wilson 125. Anthony played in only 71 Red Sox games. More MLB: Red Sox Nervously Await Announcement on Fate of $130 Million Rookie
