Let’s get the big question out of the way: Roman Anthony WILL NOT return to the Red Sox lineup tonight:
Given that there’s a double-header tomorrow, it’s possible that the Sox brass just wants to wait until they get an extra roster spot so they don’t need to make a decision on who to demote today. But, come on, he’s most talented player on the team, he’s the face of the franchise, he’s the recent recipient of a long-term contract, and his rehab production shows
that he’s more than ready. Either tonight’s game against the Yankees is important or it’s not…
Craig Breslow hasn’t yet given a reason as to why he wants Anthony to play yet another game in the minors, but he has addressed the speculation that the brass sent Anthony to Florida to rehab because they were worried his social life was getting in the way of his baseball and/or he wasn’t taking his rehab seriously enough:
“We were not punishing Roman. Roman doesn’t feel punished. He and I have a great relationship, and we communicate multiple times per day. I think what I had seen was Roman saying that being in Fort Myers and rehabbing sucked. And it can. It does. Both because you are not playing, which is what Roman has known his entire life. He’s not contributing and helping us win games. And the environment at a spring training complex in the middle of the summer is not exactly the same as playing in front of 35,000 people in Boston. But we reached the decision to send Roman to Fort Myers together, and felt like it was the thing that would get him back to the big league as fast as possible.”
(Justin Turpin, WEEI)
This Red Sox season has been magical not only because they dug themselves out of a seemingly bottomless hole by playing the hottest stretch of baseball the game has ever seen, but because they did it with a roster of role players and unheralded AAA call-ups. But should the fact that so much of the Sox’ production has come from unexpected sources actually worry Sox fans going forward? “The question is, once they get [to the postseason], will this juju and voodoo from the Andruw Monasterios, Mickey Gaspers, Nick Sogards, Anthony Seiglers, Jahmai Joneses, etc. continue? Or does it carry an inevitable expiration date?” (Christopher L. Gasper, Boston Globe)
The rebuttal to the concern outlined above would be that the Sox are getting back some legitimate talent to supplant some of those surprising role players (legitimate talent in Roman Anthony, at least, if not also Trevor Story and IKF). But given how well Mickey Gasper et. al. have played, Chad Tracy has a conundrum on his hands. “Who plays more? The presumed replacement-level types who teamed up to help save the season? Or the more established and/or highly regarded ones who were among the reasons the Red Sox ended up in a ditch to start the season?” (Chad Finn, Boston Globe)
Caleb Durbin can’t really be classified as one of those unheralded role players, given that the Sox gave up real talent to get him and penciled him in as a starting infielder for years to come. But in light of the way he started the season, his progression fits in with the narrative magic. “In the months since, Durbin has made those haters look rather silly, blossoming into a fan favorite and one of the catalysts most responsible for this remarkable Red Sox resurgence. Durbin plays with an unmistakable Dustin Pedroia-like chip on his shoulder that perfectly aligns with the essence of Boston.” (Trevor Haas, Boston.com)
