The Boston Red Sox called up Anthony, baseball’s consensus No. 1 prospect, Monday before beginning a six-game homestand during a particularly crucial portion of the team’s season, the slugger confirmed as he pulled away from the club’s Class AAA ballpark.
The club later announced it was placing outfielder Wilyer Abreu on the injured list with a left oblique strain. Anthony is batting fifth and playing right field Monday night against the Tampa Bay Rays.
Anthony, 21, had little left to prove at Worcester (Mass.), where he’d hit .288 with a .923 OPS and 10 homers in just 58 games. The final piece of unavoidable evidence came Saturday: A 497-foot grand slam – the longest homer in professional baseball this season – that came screaming off his bat at 115.6 mph, an exit velocity that would rank among the top 20 hardest-hit balls in the majors this season.
And with Anthony joining the Red Sox, a key transition in the franchise’s history is nearly complete.
Anthony, a second-round pick in 2022 out of Florida powerhouse Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, became part of a prospect troika in Boston’s system that represented their ‘big three’ hopes for the future. One of them, catcher Kyle Teel, was peeled off and dealt to the Chicago White Sox in exchange for staff ace Garrett Crochet.
A second, 22-year-old infielder Marcelo Mayer, made his major league debut on May 25. And in the interim, a fourth huge piece developed: Infielder Kristian Campbell, who made the opening-day roster and signed an eight-year, $60 million contract.
That left only Anthony, who in four minor league seasons has a career OBP of .402 and an .879 OPS. On paper, there was nowhere for the 6-3, 200-pound outfielder to play.
And Monday, the three rookies are finally together, on a lineup card at Fenway: Anthony batting fifth, Campbell sixth and Mayer seventh.
This has been a Red Sox season of coloring outside the lines from the jump, what with ongoing Rafael Devers drama – with the franchise player balking at moving to designated hitter and, later, first base – injuries to corner men Triston Casas and Alex Bregman and an imploding pitching staff that ranks 23rd in ERA and that Anthony is powerless to help.
The Red Sox, at 32-35, are already 8½ games behind the first-place New York Yankees and four games behind a large contingent for the AL’s wild card berths. The club apparently saw fit to get all hands on deck, with Abreu’s oblique strain the precipitating event.
Given the pressure to promote Anthony following his most recent blast, many of their fans will surely say it was about time.
