Roman Anthony didn't have a great Easter Sunday in Worcester, despite his Triple-A team notching a 7-0 win. The top prospect for the Boston Red Sox went 0-for-4 with a walk on the day and perhaps the biggest silver lining was that he still didn't strike out on the day. Despite an inauspicious day at the plate, though, Anthony is about to bang the door down to get the call-up to the big leagues.
After failing to make the Opening Day roster in spring training, Anthony has appeared deadset on making his second year in Triple-A as short as possible. In 66 at-bats, he has a .945 OPS with four home runs, 12 RBI and two stolen bases while also dramatically improving his walk rate and keeping his strikeout rate in a manageable position. His advanced metrics are even more impressive, leading all of minor league ball in barrel rate.
The problem for the Red Sox when it comes to Anthony is that there's not an obvious spot to put their top prospect in. He looks ready, no question. However, the idea of moving either Jarren Duran, Ceddanne Rafaela or Wilyer Abreu out of the everyday lineup doesn't seem like something Alex Cora is overly eager to do.
On Sunday, however, the clearest path to get Anthony to Boston was made perfectly clear, even if it might not be the most popular route forward.
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Roman Anthony's path to Boston Red Sox should involve trading OF depth for bullpen help
Against the lowly White Sox after taking the first two games of the series, Tanner Houck bounced back with a great start and the Red Sox held a 2-0 lead going into the seventh inning when Cora turned it over to the bullpen. It was a disaster from there.
Zack Kelly immediately loaded the bases by giving up a single and then hitting two batters, leading to him getting pulled before recording a single out. Justin Wilson tried to come in to stop the bleeding but it was too much danger as Chicago took a 5-4 lead, added three more runs on Liam Hendriks and Brennan Berandino, and took the four-run win in Boston.
For all the improvements the Red Sox have made, the bullpen remains a source of inconsistency and concern. Hendriks simply might not be the reliable arm he once was (though we can give him some leeway as this was his first MLB appearance in nearly two years), Kelly is as volatile as they come, so too is Greg Weissert, Wilson is fine but nothing more, and Bernadino is still impossible to figure out. Outside of Garrett Whitlock, Justin Slaten and even Aroldis Chapman, there's little to trust.
As such, Craig Breslow and the Red Sox should already be ready to make moves to add a reliever ahead of the trade deadline. It's necessary for Boston to compete for an AL East title or even a World Series. And it just so happens that they could go big-name shopping in that regard in a way that would clear the way for Anthony to break into the majors.
Now, I'm not going to tell you that trading any of Duran, Rafaela or Abreu would be easy, much less deciding which of the three you would part with. However, Rafaela might be best as a super-utility player while neither Duran nor Abreu are locked into a long-term extension. That simple fact suggests that, perhaps, they aren't in the long-term plans for the Red Sox. In turn, that would make them expendable in the right type of win-now move to add a reliever that would also potentially bolster the offense by giving Anthony the call to the big leagues.
Duran and Abreu are beloved by the Red Sox fan base largely and Rafaela, while frustrating at the plate at times, is a wizard defensively. This isn't an easy decision to make but none of them have the upside of Anthony. No one in the current outfield is remotely less expendable than Anthony long term either. It only stands to reason that Boston could move one of its asset, keep a strength a strength, and then improve the bullpen dramatically.
There are still three months until the trade deadline and it's entirely possible Anthony is up in Boston before then. However, to clear the path for him to be a true everyday player as a top prospect in all of baseball, this path forward for the Red Sox seems glaringly obvious at this point.