Injury updates! Justin Slaten threw another bullpen yesterday, as he battles to return from shoulder inflammation that has kept him out since late May. He’ll throw at least one more bullpen session before being reevaluated. Luis Guerrero also threw a live batting practice session, but did so down in Fort Myers, which may indicate that the team isn’t planning or counting on having him back on the big league roster for the remainder of the season. Hunter Dobbins, meanwhile, underwent Tommy John surgery
yesterday. Get well soon, Hunter, we’ll see you in 2027. (Christopher Smith, MassLive)
Reliever Jordan Hicks hasn’t been injured, he’s just been really, really bad. Hicks talked about his struggles and isn’t exactly ducking responsibility for them, but he also seems to be taking issue with the Red Sox plan of attack, saying “If I’m going to be giving up these kind of runs out of the bullpen, I should really be throwing the pitch I want to throw.” (Tim Healey, Boston Globe)
In non-big league pitching news, Payton Tolle continues to rise up the prospect boards. MLB Pipeline now has him as the second-best prospect in Boston’s system, behind shortstop Franklin Arias. Rounding out the top-five are power-hitting outfielder Jhostynxon Garcia, newly-drafted pitcher Kyson Witherspoon, and pitcher Brandon Clarke. (Ian Browne, MLB.com)
Roman Anthony sure as hell isn’t a prospect anymore. Instead, he’s well on his way to reaching his potential as one of the best hitters in the game, with an on-base percentage over .400 after 52 career games. The speed of his development is surprising even Alex Cora, who (jokingly) now regrets his decision to pinch-hit for Anthony in his first MLB game. (Jackson Roberts, SI.com)
If all goes according to plan, Anthony will be a regular performer at the All-Star Game soon enough. Maybe he’ll even get a chance to play that game in front of his hometown fans, as there is speculation that Fenway Park could be tabbed to host the game in 2029. (Connor Roche, Boston.com)
And while no one is going to start speculating whether Dustin May is going to be an All-Star anytime soon (or even on the Sox in 2029, since he’s a pending free agent), it’s worth noting that he was outstanding against the Astros last night. He’s always had electric stuff and certainly showed it. (Rob Bradford, WEEI)
