Red Sox Hoping To Avoid 'Cautionary Tale' With Roman Anthony, Per Insider

Feb 18, 2025; Lee County, FL, USA; Boston Red Sox outfielder Roman Anthony (48) participates in media day at JetBlue Park at Fenway South. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

Boston Red Sox outfielder Roman Anthony is the number-one prospect in Minor League Baseball, and he's proving his credentials early in the 2025 season.

The 20-year-old Anthony is putting up great statistics at Triple-A Worcester, but the underlying data is more impressive. He's barreling balls at a positively elite rate, while putting up a 1.039 OPS through 23 games.

He's fought off shoulder soreness and a foul ball off his foot in recent weeks, but Anthony still looks ready to contribute at the major league level. So, seeing as the Red Sox's offense has been hot and cold all season, why haven't they given the youngster a chance yet?

According to one insider, there's another potential cause for Boston slow-playing Anthony beyond their current outfield logjam, which is one obvious roadblock to bringing him to the majors.

On Monday, Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic wrote that Jackson Holliday's struggles with the Baltimore Orioles last season may be contributing to the Red Sox's patience with Anthony remaining in Triple-A as May approaches.

"Aside from the positional roadblock, there’s another reason the Red Sox are playing it cool with Anthony. Along with the rest of baseball, the Red Sox watched Baltimore promote baseball’s top prospect Jackson Holliday last season, a 20-year-old who tore through the minors the previous year, only to see him struggle mightily," McCaffrey wrote.

"This isn’t to say Anthony would have the same fate, but it’s a cautionary tale for teams, particularly in a market like Boston where the expectation for Anthony to perform right away will be significant."

Holliday and Anthony are good friends who grew up near each other in Florida and still train together during the offseason. Anthony has also spoken in the past about Holliday's struggles putting the difficulties of playing Major League Baseball into perspective for him.

But every player's situation is different, and Anthony's batted ball results are so good that it's hard to imagine him not figuring things out before long. When he eventually gets his chance, he'll be ready to make the most of it.