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The Boston Red Sox were able to get a resounding win against the Texas Rangers yesterday, but it only improved them to a 28-39 record, and five games behind the last spot in the AL Wildcard.
Going into this season, they lost a lot of offense when they let Alex Bregman walk in free agency. It seems their gameplan offensively was to bank on their former MLB No. 1 overall prospect Roman Anthony taking the next step, but so far this season, it’s looked like a mistake.
Last season Anthony looked amazing
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When Anthony was called up last season, the whole Boston fandom was excited. He had a slow start to his MLB career, but he started heating up quickly.
He finished the 2025 season as the leadoff hitter, slashing .292/.396/.463/.859 with 18 doubles, a triple, eight home runs, and 32 RBI in 71 games. This performance earned him an eight-year, $130 million extension with the Red Sox.
However he ended the season with a left oblique injury, making him miss the last month of the season, and the Red Sox’s Wild Card appearance. However, it seemed like he would be a superstar bat in the lineup for years to come.
This season he’s had a major sophomore slump
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So far this season, however, he’s been anything but a superstar bat. He’s slashed .229/.354/.321/.675 with five doubles, a triple, a home run and five RBI in 30 games.
He’s also been out since the beginning of May with a partially torn ligament in his right ring finger, which is also unfortunately his throwing hand. Updates about him have been scarce, making it look like he will miss a majority of this season, possibly even all of it.
Because of this injury and slump, it looks like the Sox jumped the gun once again on a young prospect, which critics have noticed.
Another prospect the Sox overestimated was Kristian Campbell, who is struggling in AAA after receiving an eight-year, $60 million extension due to his limited success at the beginning of last season.
Anthony isn’t a bust though
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Anthony’s only played 100 MLB games, so it’s way too early to call him a bust. Plus, in 70 healthy games last season he was amazing; playing that well for almost half a season isn’t a fluke.
Hopefully, upon his return, he goes back to being his rookie self, and becomes the superstar Boston hopes he can be.
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