Roman Anthony removed from Red Sox' Wild Card roster due to injury; Curtis Mead activated

A day after Roman Anthony’s abrupt exit from Game 1 of the American League Wild Card Series raised questions, the Red Sox got the answer they hoped to avoid.

Anthony is dealing with new strains in his right wrist along with an aggravation of the injury that cost him nearly four months of the regular season. The damage is significant enough that Boston removed him from its Wild Card roster Wednesday and replaced him with infielder Curtis Mead.

Anthony returned to Boston after leaving Tuesday night’s 9-0 loss to the Yankees following two at-bats. Additional imaging revealed the new strains, manager Chad Tracy said on Wednesday afternoon.

“(He’s) sore,” Tracy said Wednesday afternoon. “He was sent back last night after leaving the game. We sent him back to Boston for extra, additional imaging which actually revealed some new strains to different muscles in his wrist in addition to exasperating the old injuries. It’s not great.

“I know there’s enough there, and enough new stuff there, where (Anthony) is not gonna be able to play,” Tracy added. “There’s enough there that we know that if we make this move, we’re not only going to miss him now, but also for this next series. We’re pretty confident in that to be able to submit paperwork.”

By replacing Anthony on the roster because of injury, the Red Sox also made him ineligible for the ALDS should they come back to beat the Yankees in the next two games. Tracy did not rule out Anthony returning later in October if Boston makes a deep postseason run.

It is another frustrating setback in an injury-plagued season for the 22-year-old.

Anthony originally injured his hand on a swing in Detroit on May 4, suffering what was later described as a partially torn ring finger ligament in the CMC joint. His rehab included multiple setbacks before he finally returned to Boston’s lineup Aug. 30.

Anthony played 25 games down the stretch, but the wrist never completely stopped bothering him. Tracy said Anthony occasionally experienced “zingers” after certain swings, particularly check swings, though the discomfort typically subsided by the following day.

“He has had check-swings throughout this process, since coming back off of it, that irritated (the area),” Tracy said. “It’s happened numerous times. Those happen where typically, by the next day, it was feeling fine. That’s happened since September started and he was coming back from all this stuff and doing it. There’s swings that do that to it, but that doesn’t necessarily mean we were overly concerned about it.”

There was enough concern over the weekend, however, that the Red Sox alerted Andruw Monasterio to be prepared to replace Anthony if the wrist became an issue during Tuesday’s series opener.

Anthony went through pregame work without enough discomfort to keep him out of the lineup.

“Actually, once he went and hit before the game, it was basically like, ‘Let’s rock and roll,’” Tracy said. “When the game started, I wasn’t even thinking about it. You always keep people prepared, but I wasn’t even thinking about it.”

Anthony then struck out twice against Yankees right-hander Cam Schlittler, with both at-bats ending on check swings. Before Anthony was due to hit again in the sixth, head athletic trainer Brandon Henry approached Tracy.

“Then he took two at-bats (with check swings),” Tracy said. “I still wasn’t thinking about it until (Henry) tapped me and said something worse happened.”

Monasterio pinch-hit for Anthony in the sixth, and Anthony’s night was over.

Anthony is expected to return to Yankee Stadium to join his teammates as the Red Sox try to keep their season alive Wednesday night. 

What's next for Anthony is up in the air, but Tracy is hoping he gets to play if the club makes a deeper postseason run. 

“I hope it’s not today, and I hope it’s a month from now, but we’re gonna hit an offseason where there’s going to be a long layoff and everybody’s body, after a 162-game season, needs time to heal and recover,” Tracy said. “My hope is that it would be a situation where he can finally get to a place where it can just rest and it’s fine. I don’t really know the answer to that.”

If Anthony does not return this postseason, his first full major league season will end after only 55 regular-season games and two postseason plate appearances. He hit .245 with five home runs, 15 RBIs and a .735 OPS before going 0-for-2 in his postseason debut.

It would also mark the second consecutive year his season ended prematurely because of an injury suffered on a swing. Anthony missed last year’s postseason after suffering an oblique strain in September.

“It’s grinding on him, for sure,” Tracy said. “He’s upset. He wants to be out there with the guys. Obviously, everything he’s gone through this year, dealing with these different things, it’s tough for him.

“There’s no question from anybody on our side of things. We love the kid, love the player. Fantastic player. He’s just dealt with hardships this year, and this is the next in line of that. But he wants to be out there with the guys, and he would if he could.”

Mead Gets the Call

Anthony’s injury creates an unusual opportunity for Mead, whose own Red Sox season was derailed almost immediately by a wrist injury.

Boston acquired the 25-year-old from Washington for left-hander Connelly Early on July 26. Mead hit .253 with 17 home runs, 17 doubles, 48 RBIs and an .851 OPS in 87 games for the Nationals and was expected to receive significant playing time after joining Boston.

In his Red Sox debut July 27, Mead fractured his left wrist after being hit by a pitch in just his second plate appearance with the club. He missed the remainder of the regular season and was not initially included on Boston’s Wild Card roster.

Mead never advanced to a minor league rehab assignment, but he had progressed to facing live pitching last week in Fort Myers.

“He was down in Fort Myers and actually had progressed to taking live BPs,” Tracy said. “We had enough going on there with high-intense swings since he’d been down there.”

Because Mead was not on the original Wild Card roster, Major League Baseball had to approve the injury substitution. Tracy said Mead and infielder Anthony Seigler, who was also on the injured list, were Boston’s two candidates.

Mead will not start Game 2 against Yankees left-hander Max Fried but will be available off the bench. With Anthony unavailable, Jahmai Jones will serve as Boston’s designated hitter while Nate Eaton starts in left field.

Sonny Gray will take the mound for the Red Sox as they attempt to stave off elimination and now without Anthony in their lineup.