The Boston Red Sox have allowed just 15 runs to score over their last four games, giving up fewer than four runs per contest. Unfortunately, they've scored just five runs over that same four-game span, causing them to lose all four of those ballgames. Now, at 27-30, they sit in fourth place in the AL East, 8.5 games back of the first-place New York Yankees.
Losing Alex Bregman, on top of the injuries suffered by Triston Casas, Romy Gonzalez, and Masataka Yoshida, hasn't helped, but the Red Sox, even now, are too talented to essentially score one run per game.
With that in mind, it feels as if it's getting close to the team needing to search for a spark. With that in mind, they should look no further than Triple-A Worcester and give Roman Anthony the shot he's been waiting for.
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Red Sox offensive woes give team the excuse it needs to finally promote Roman Anthony
Anthony, MLB's No. 1 overall prospect, has been in Triple-A all year because of, reasons? Honestly, I don't know why. Sure, I get that the Red Sox have a stout outfield consisting of Jarren Duran, Ceddanne Rafaela, and Wilyer Abreu from left to right, but it feels as if the Red Sox can easily find room for a player of Anthony's caliber, even if he might not be the best defensive center fielder.
To put it simply, he has proven all he can at the Triple-A level. This season, he's slashing .321/.453/.518 with seven home runs and 21 RBI. For a Red Sox team starved for offense, wouldn't you want a player who is reaching base over 45 percent of the time at Triple-A to, at the very least, get a look in the majors?
This Red Sox team is so desperate for anything to work offensively, to the point where they're hitting Carlos Narvaez third in the order. No disrespect to Narvaez - he's been playing extremely well even amid this team's struggles, but he has just 46 games of experience and is more known for his glove than his bat. Hitting behind him in the order is Kristian Campbell, a fellow rookie who, after his red-hot start, has really slowed down.
I mean, this Red Sox team is still finding regular at-bats for Trevor Story. I get that Rafaela is better defensively in the outfield, but with this team starved for offense, you're telling me Rafaela can't move to the infield dirt and make room for a bat of Anthony's upside to play in the majors?
The Red Sox promoted another top prospect, Marcelo Mayer, just days ago, and he's looked better than most of this lineup in his short time in the majors.
Ultimately, if Anthony struggles, it's not as if this offense can get any worse than it is right now. If he thrives, he might provide a spark the Red Sox have been searching for and help turn their season around. It's a low-risk, high-reward move that the Red Sox should be making immediately.