Red Sox's Roman Anthony headed to IL while recovering from hand injury, says it's 'nothing too serious'
Boston initially didn't place the 21-year-old outfielder and DH on the injured list after he suffered the setback in a Monday win over the Detroit Tigers.
Roman Anthony is going on the injured list with his right hand injury, after all. Boston Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy alerted reporters of the impending transaction on Thursday ahead of their series opener against the red-hot Tampa Bay Rays , a four-game set that marks the start of a seven-game homestand. Anthony, who will turn 22 on May 13, hasn’t experienced any setbacks in his recovery, but the length of his absence merits calling up someone to take his place on the 26-man roster in the meantime, Tracy explained to reporters, per the Boston Herald’s Mac Cerullo .
The Red Sox are bringing up catcher/infielder Mickey Gasper from Triple-A Worcester to fill Anthony’s spot, as has been widely reported . Anthony is in his second MLB season. After turning heads upon his major-league debut, he signed an eight-year extension reportedly worth $130 million last year .
In 2026, he’s mostly been playing left field and slotting in at designated hitter. He clarified to reporters pregame Thursday that he’s healing up from a sprain to a ligament below his right ring finger. “For me, where I stand right now, how it’s gone on and the way that it’s felt over the last few days, when the IL stint is over, I plan to be in that game the next day that I’m off IL,” Anthony said, via WEEI’s Rob Bradford .
Here is Roman Anthony talking about his hand injury (yes, it’s more hand than wrist): pic. twitter. com/23eipTrK2Z — Rob Bradford (@bradfo) May 7, 2026 Anthony suffered the injury while fouling off a pitch during a 5-4 road win over the Detroit Tigers on Monday.