Red Sox’ Roman Anthony talks about his slow start (‘kind of a letdown’) and turning it around when he returns from injury

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — When the Red Sox arrived in Kauffman Stadium, Royals superstar Bobby Witt Jr. sought out Roman Anthony, his Team USA teammate during the World Baseball Classic.

Read more Republicans call off vote on Iran war resolution that was on the verge of passing

The two spoke about life and the season in a way that permitted Witt to forget that more than three years of age and playing experience separate the players.

“I feel like we’re the same age at times,” said Witt. “But he’s a lot younger than me.”

Indeed. Anthony, who turned 22 last week, remains in his big league infancy. Most top prospects, especially those drafted out of high school who fly through the minors, require time for talent and experience to coalesce and unlock stardom.

To wit: Witt. Through 200 career games, he hit .247/.287/.421 and struggled defensively. Around the middle of his second full season, he leveled up and never looked back, combining a .309/.364/.537 line with spectacular defense and elite base running, emerging as one of baseball’s best players.

“[Growth] just comes,” said Witt. “After you’ve faced a bunch of guys, you’ve seen them over and over again, you know how to adjust. … Being adjustable and being consistent, if you can do that every year, keep stacking days and getting better, you’re just going to keep evolving into a better baseball player.”

Intellectually, Anthony — 101 games into his big league career — understands he’ll become better with time. The notion offers little solace, particularly since he’s currently unable to play and gain experience.

On Monday, two weeks since his last game, Anthony swung a bat for the first time since pain shot through his right wrist on a check swing. The experiment lasted a few swings.

“I was super excited to finally pick up a bat. In my head, picking up a bat means this is kind of the last step of getting back out there,” Anthony said. “It just didn’t really go the way we wanted. It felt similar to how it felt when I [injured] it. … Obviously not as extreme, but enough to say, ‘Wow, this isn’t great.’ ”

The pace of Anthony’s rehab has been confusing and disappointing to many, including himself. Initially, he feared a possible broken hamate or surgery when the injury occurred. When imaging ruled out those outcomes, he hoped for a quick return.

“The results [of imaging], based on how I felt, were definitely better than what I had originally envisioned,” he said. “But the hand is just so tricky. There’s so much that goes on in the hand. I didn’t really know that.”

He landed on the injured list May 7 and hoped to return after the 10-day minimum. Instead, discomfort persisted. He got a cortisone shot on May 11 and was encouraged by improvement until he grabbed a bat on Monday.

“If you don’t have confidence you can grip a bat and go with your hand, that’s arguably the most important part of hitting,” said Anthony. “There’s certain things that I can play through, and certain things where I can continue to play through [injury], tape certain things up. Unfortunately, this just isn’t one of those.”

As much as the Red Sox would like Anthony back, they want the best version of him rather than one who is affected on every swing.

“You can’t hit in Major League Baseball without full strength of your hand,” said Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy. “He knows that, and he knows we’ll get him right and we’ll get him back eventually.”

Read more Republicans delay budget votes as they balk at Trump’s fund

In the meantime, Anthony is trying to use the time constructively — helping teammates game-plan for pitchers, while also examining his performance this season.

“It’s a [bad] time, but it’s a good time to get better, to study and watch the game,” he said. “This is an important time to go back and dive deep into why I was underwhelming and what I was doing, and kind of mentally get that right and prepare for when I get back.”

Anthony is hitting .229/.354/.321 with just one home run in 130 plate appearances. He considers his performance disappointing, particularly given that it’s added to the woes of a struggling offense. He doesn’t accept inexperience as an explanation for his results, given his elite performance as a rookie in 2025, and in the WBC this spring.

“You never really allow yourself to just kind of be OK with [struggling],” he said.

His assessment of 2026?

“Kind of a letdown, honestly,” he said. “Short sample size, but I wasn’t where I wanted to be.”

Anthony’s primary concern is the quality of his swing decisions. He’s swung at more pitches on the edges of the zone, while failing to attack pitches over the heart of the plate. The combination has resulted in his best contact coming on ground balls.

“When I’m at my best, my swing decisions are great,” he said. “When you’re swinging at good pitches, you have a better chance of hitting the ball in the air, and you have a better chance of doing what you want to do.”

He hasn’t done that this year — and won’t be able to start improving until he gets healthy.

Still, Anthony sees two sources of reassurance. First, after a slow start last year (.114/.291/.227 through 15 games), he emerged as a force (.329/.419/.512). Second, he’s still confident his return will come with most of the season to play.

“Whenever I come back, there’s still going to be a lot of baseball left, a whole lot more than I’ve played already,” he said.

His timetable for returning remains unknown. He’ll be reassessed Friday, trying to restart the progression that will return him to games and the experience that will help illuminate his career path. Neither his slow start nor injury alters the view of what Anthony might become.

“Sky’s the limit for him,” said Witt. “He’s going to be in this league for a long time and be a star.”

But both stardom and injuries are capable of resisting schedules. And so, Anthony and the Red Sox wait.

Read more New York City residents will get a chance to purchase $50 World Cup tickets