The Boston Red Sox are in a tailspin, now four games below .500 and 9.5 games behind first-place New York in the AL East. It was not supposed to be like this. The Red Sox are built to win now. The front office finally got aggressive last offseason. It's clear the team needs a shot in the arm — a major talent influx, ideally without breaking the bank.
How about calling up the No. 1 prospect in MLB? Roman Anthony is slugging his way through the Triple-A season in Worcester. He has done everything to prove he's ready for the big-league stage. Boston has already called up their No. 2 and No. 3 prospects, with Kristian Campbell raking out of the gate and Marcelo Mayer getting his shot this week in Alex Bregman's absence.
And yet, Anthony and his smoldering bat remain stuck in Triple-A. The Red Sox are going to call him up eventually, but why the wait? Isn't now the perfect time to test out one of baseball's most talented individuals? If it doesn't work out, Boston can send him down and remain patient. But now would be a great time for a breakout in the Majors.
Craig Breslow's explanation for Boston's continued reluctancy to call up Anthony does not carry water.
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Craig Breslow needs a better reason for keeping Roman Anthony away from Red Sox
"We want to make sure when he comes up not only is he ready but there’s runway for him to play," Breslow told The Greg Hill Show. "You don’t wanna bring up a 21 year old and have him play sporadically, he needs to be in the lineup everyday."
This is a fair point. On the surface, it's the truth — you don't call up your top prospect and stick him on the bench. That said, it's unclear what exactly is standing in the way of everyday reps for Anthony. Wilyer Abreu and Jarren Duran are staples in the outfield, but Ceddanne Rafaela has a .639 OPS through 53 games this season. That number has now declined in three straight years to begin his career.
Rafaela is an incredible defender, but the Red Sox need offense most of all right now. He's also a nifty middle infielder, so Boston can move him around the field (and the lineup), even once Anthony takes over. Transforming Rafaela into a superb utilityman feels like the move — it's almost inevitable, so why not embrace it?
Anthony has .318/.450/.528 splits with eight home runs through 49 games with Worcester this season. Obviously the level of competition spikes in the Majors, but c'mon. The dude is very plainly "ready," and it's hard to see this obstacle to everyday playing time that Breslow is so adamant about. Wanting to continue investing in the 24-year-old Rafaela is understandable, especially given his long-term contradct extension, but there are other ways to go about it. If it comes to it, demoting Mayer, sticking Rafaela in the infield and letting Anthony rip big-league pitches is at least preferable to Boston's current strategy. Ideally, you'd find ways to play all three, even if it means Rafaela loses his everyday spot.
The Red Sox need a spark, and they need to get their priorities straight. Anthony is a potential franchise star. It's time to see what he's made of.