The Boston Red Sox are doing everything they said they wouldn’t do and Roman Anthony, unfortunately, has a front seat to it all. They said they would be patient with the young trio of Anthony, Marcelo Mayer and Kristian Campbell. Yet, the two latter players have been pulled in all types of directions as the Red Sox are unnecessarily scrambling.
Mayer was called up to the Red Sox to play third base with Alex Bregman out and Rafael Devers not an option — remember the first base drama? Well, Mayer’s third base experience is a whopping six games. Before Mayer got his call-up, Campbell — an Opening Day call-up — has been all over the field.
He started as a middle infielder, then played some outfield and now he’s taking first base reps in practice to eventually transition to the Triston Casas replacement. Now, the murmurs for Anthony are mixed feelings.
Of course Red Sox fans want to see the core of the future that the Red Sox put so much stock in. But the Red Sox have shown they don’t have any idea what they want that future to be. Anthony’s call to MLB is probably overdue, but do you really want to see him called up at this juncture?
The Boston Red Sox are better holding off Roman Anthony’s MLB debut for now
At this point, the Red Sox need to take a step back and realize what they’re doing. They prided themselves on getting it right with their young players that they’ve invested so much into and that’s gone awry. They’ve mishandled two of the three young players, and calling Anthony up right now would add another distraction.
Anthony isn’t going to be the savior for the Red Sox and that’s not because he’s not good enough. It’s because the Red Sox are going to end up failing him. They’re starting to fail the other two.
The Red Sox said they would handle Marcelo, Campbell and Anthony with care, that’s partly why Anthony has yet to reach the MLB squad. The Red Sox have come up with every excuse imaginable to hold Anthony back. Bringing him up now would only create more problems.
Anthony needs to be promoted, but not like this. They need to figure out how they’re going to deliver on their promise to their young core. They’re coming up short now and aren’t showing any signs of rectifying the situation they’ve put them in.