4:45pm: The Sox have now officially put Anthony on the IL, retroactive to May 5th, and recalled Gasper. Though Anthony says he has a sprained ligament in his finger, the Sox listed his ailment as a right wrist sprain.
3:40pm: Red Sox manager Chad Tracy announced to reporters that outfielder Roman Anthony will be placed on the 10-day injured list. Utility player Mickey Gasper will be recalled in a corresponding move. Anthony says he has a sprained ligament in his right ring finger but expects to be back after a minimal stint on the IL. Mac Cerullo of the Boston Herald was among those to pass along the info. Gasper is still on his way to Fenway, per Christopher Smith of MassLive, which is perhaps why the moves haven’t been officially announced yet.
Anthony departed Monday’s game and the club announced that he was experiencing right wrist discomfort. He hasn’t been in the lineup since then. Tracy said today that the issue hasn’t worsened but the club doesn’t want to keep playing short-handed while they wait for Anthony to heal. Since he hasn’t played in a few days, they should be able to backdate the IL placement to Tuesday. That will mean Anthony could be back in just over a week.
Perhaps it will be a chance for him to hit the reset button. He put up a massive .292/.396/.463 line in his debut last year but has scuffled early in 2026, with a .229/.354/.321 line. He also dealt with some back soreness earlier this season, so it’s possible he hasn’t really been healthy for long enough to get in a groove.
For the time being, this move alleviates the outfield logjam that has been an issue for the Sox. With Anthony on the shelf, they can now use the three outfield positions and the designated hitter slot to give regular playing time to each of Jarren Duran, Wilyer Abreu, Ceddanne Rafaela and Masataka Yoshida.
The Sox have only sent Yoshida to the plate 69 times this season, about half of the other guys, despite the fact that he’s hitting .310/.420/.379 while Duran has a .190/.255/.325 line. Some of that is luck, as Yoshida has a high .360 batting average on balls in play while Duran’s BABIP is .235. For reference, league average is usually around .290. Still, there’s an argument for riding the hot hand when the team is struggling to score runs. That will be more possible now, though it could be a temporary situation if Anthony is back as quick as hoped.
Gasper has outfield experience but will provide more general depth, as he also has spent time at catcher and the three non-shortstop infield positions. Bench infielders Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Andruw Monasterio each have some outfield experience and could be called upon if necessary.
Photo courtesy of Rick Osentoski, Imagn Images
