As the Boston Red Sox entered Opening Day, a sense of exuberance and optimism was commonplace around Fenway. The Red Sox added Garrett Crochet, Walker Buehler and Aroldis Chapman to round out a pitching staff that had struggled mightily last season. And chief baseball officer Craig Breslow showed baseball fans he had one more blockbuster in him just before spring training with the signing of Alex Bregman, adding to what was already estimated to be a menacing offense.
These blockbuster additions provided many reasons to be bullish about Boston's chances in 2025. Numerous MLB analysts had ranked the Red Sox as the team to beat in the AL, especially after a torrent of misfortunes struck the New York Yankees. But it didn’t take long for this narrative to receive a punishing blow.
Entering Monday’s action, the Red Sox are sitting 8-9, one game below .500. This includes losing a series to the Chicago White Sox over the weekend, who entered the series with a 2-10 record after posting the worst season in MLB history in 2024.
Thus far, the Red Sox slugfest baseball fans had anticipated has yet to materialize. This is in part due to detrimental slumps from stars such as Rafael Devers and Jarren Duran, but can also be attributed to the continued struggles of Ceddanne Rafaela and Triston Casas. The injury to catcher Connor Wong also doesn’t help. Regardless of the cause, the Beantown offense is cumulatively hitting for an OPS of .703, good enough for 14th in the MLB tied with the Miami Marlins.
But these offensive woes could be lifted soon, provided Boston is willing to simply make a phone call.
For more news and rumors, check out MLB Insider Robert Murray’s work on The Baseball Insiders podcast, subscribe to The Moonshot, our weekly MLB newsletter, and join the discord to get the inside scoop during the MLB season.
Roman Anthony is knocking on the door, and knocking hard
Top prospect Roman Anthony, the No. 2 overall prospect in the sport according to MLB Pipeline, is on the verge of promotion. Turning 21 years of age in a month, Anthony not only has the makings of a five-tool player but has already displayed five-tool talent in the Minors. Last season, Anthony slashed .291/.396/.498/.894 with 18 home runs and 21 stolen bases over the course of 454 at-bats.
Anthony’s brilliant plate discipline allows him to draw walks abundantly while the exit velocities produced by his raw power are extremely impressive. Anthony recently recorded the highest exit velocity of 2025 for any player in Boston's organization at the Triple-A level or in the Majors, clocking in at 113.1 mph. This comes after recording three hits exceeding 103 mph in the same day.
Roman Anthony rips a 113.1 mph single for the @WooSox 🔥
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) April 13, 2025
It's the hardest-hit ball by a @RedSox player at Triple-A or the Majors. pic.twitter.com/YTlCC5yJMp
Both his power and his contact ability lead scouts to believe he can hit .300 with 30 home runs per year once he settles into the Majors. This season in Triple-A, Anthony is hitting .256/.396/.488/.844 with two home runs and one stolen base through 43 at-bats.
When Anthony arrives in the Majors, he will likely be replacing Ceddanne Rafaela. Rafaela has scuffled offensively at the highest level: Over 677 career at-bats, Rafaela is hitting .244 with 17 home runs. His inability to draw walks leaves his on-base percentage at .276. If Anthony can begin to replicate his Minor-League success in the majors sometime soon, this would almost immediately correct Boston’s trajectory.