Roman Anthony's Injury Sucks, but the Red Sox Shouldn't Rush Him Back

Roman Anthony’s oblique injury could not have come at a worse time. The Red Sox are in the midst of a playoff push and now have to try and find a suitable replacement for their star leadoff hitter. Anthony has been one of the best players in all of baseball since his call-up in June, and his presence in the lineup be virtually impossible to replicate.

Alex Cora told the media on Wednesday that Anthony has a four-to-six-week recovery timetable. Four weeks from September 3 is October 1, also known as the second game of the Wild Card series. That six-week timeline puts him returning somewhere around the end of the ALDS and the start of the ALCS. That’s less than ideal. There may be a push, even from Anthony himself, to rush back as the season draws to a close. The team needs to tread carefully here, though, and not push him to come back before he’s ready, even if the team goes far in the postseason.

Oblique injuries are notoriously difficult to predict. They limit the movement of a player’s core and make it almost impossible for them to swing a bat with much success. While Anthony has been great in the outfield, his offense has had the biggest impact on this team. Anthony playing at 75-80% is likely going to be better than a vast number of fully healthy players, but everyone needs to consider the future of the young phenom. We don’t have to look outside of the division to see what could happen if a player with an oblique injury returns before they should. Orioles’ catcher Adley Rutschman was first placed on the 10-day IL in June with a right oblique strain. He returned from that injury in early August and then promptly wound up back on the 10-day IL with a left oblique strain on August 18. Should Anthony be rushed back within the suggested timeline, it’s not farfetched to think that he could suffer a similar fate.

On the other hand, the argument for rushing Anthony back is pretty easy: there’s no one currently healthy that can even come close to replacing his production on offense. Wilyer Abreu is still on the injured list and hasn’t resumed running, so the rest of his regular season could be in question. They can, and likely will, run Rob Refsnyder out to right in most games, but he’s no longer a the caliber of player who should be a regular on a playoff team. Jhostynxon Garcia looked overmatched in his quick cup of coffee with the big-league team and can’t be counted on to produce down the stretch. The interesting option here would be Kristian Campbell, but he doesn’t have the arm to play right field at Fenway Park ,and his outings in the outfield have been less than impressive so far. Ceddanne Rafaela has the arm and the ability to play right at Fenway, but he’s the best center fielder on the team (potentially in the league), and needs to be roaming there every game from here on out. Jarren Duran doesn’t have the arm to play right field.

All that being said, it's still not worth rushing Anthony back. If there's even a slim chance that doing so could hamper his future or offseason preparation, then forget it. He’s the building block of this organization and putting him in a position where he could exacerbate an injury like this isn't good business, especially considering that he just signed an eight-year mega-contract.

As such, rushing Roman Anthony back needs to be the furthest thing from the minds of the Red Sox’s front office. He’s far too valuable to be put in that situation at this stage of his career. The Red Sox and their fans want a deep playoff run this season, and a healthy Roman Anthony likely gets them there, but we are far closer to the start of their championship window than the end. The young core of this team is locked into multi-year extensions that will keep that window wide open for years to come. If, and that’s a big if, Roman Anthony bounces back quickly from this oblique injury, then it’s entirely possible we could see him before the season is over. I wouldn’t expect that to be the case, though. The team needs to tread lightly and allow him as much time as necessary to heal and recover. The rookie will be a superstar in this league—if he isn't already—and the team needs to make decisions with his long-term future in mind.