Red Sox make decision on Roman Anthony surgery after getting eliminated by Yankees
· Yahoo Sports
After a magical run in the summer of the 2026 MLB season, the Boston Red Sox went out with a whimper in the postseason. They once again lost in the Wild Card round to their arch rival New York Yankees, this time in two games instead of three.
The Red Sox offense produced just two runs throughout 18 innings of baseball, that being a pair of solo home runs in Game 2. Part of the reason for their offensive struggles could have been due to the absence of young star outfielder Roman Anthony.
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The 22-year-old led off Game 1 against the Yankees’ ace Cam Schlittler, striking out twice in two plate appearances before exiting the game with an apparent injury. It was later revealed to be hand and wrist issues.
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Prospective surgery
Anthony previously missed a huge swath of the season with different hand/wrist issues, so the question of surgery had been proposed by the media. Per Chris Cotillo of MassLive on Monday, Boston general manager Craig Breslow said Anthony will “likely” not need surgery.
The news is somewhat polarizing, as the outfielder’s injuries this season would indicate that something might be permanently wrong with his right hand if it is not fixed medically. At that, a theoretical surgery would still have him ready for the start of the 2027 season.
The information known about the injuries are murky at best, with these new problems being classified as “muscle strains in the wrist.” Anthony apparently re-aggravated his tendon injury from earlier in the season as well.
Growing frustration
Sep 25, 2026; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Red Sox left fielder Roman Anthony (19) hits a double against the Chicago Cubs during the fifth inning at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images Credit: IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect (Reuters)The former No. 1 prospect in MLB, Anthony has had a frustrating start to his MLB career after roughly a season and half of play. The Red Sox have played a total of 262 games since his call-up on June 9, 2025. He has played in just 127 of those contests.
In 55 games this season, Anthony slashed .245/.339/.396 (.735 OPS) with five home runs and 15 RBIs. His numbers took a complete nose-dive all around after a fantastic rookie season in 2025 (.859 OPS in 71 games).
The 22-year-old is already at risk of being labeled injury prone, a designation which does not hold a good connotation. If he continues to be unable to stay on the field, Boston may be in trouble for the long run.
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