The Red Sox will be without one of their young stars for the near future as their season continues to spiral.
Boston placed outfielder Roman Anthony on the 10-day injured list for a sprained right wrist, the team announced Thursday.
The 21-year-old injured his wrist in his first at-bat of the Red Sox’s 5-4 win over the Tigers on Monday before flying back to Boston to see the team’s hand specialist.
Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy said an IL stint was required for Anthony, adding that there was not enough progression over the past few days.
“Still sore,” Tracy told reporters, according to the Associated Press. “I think it’s more of a case of, ‘How are we willing to play short-handed?’ We’ve already done it for two days.”
Anthony said he has not picked up a bat since Monday.
He was seen sporting a brace on his right hand.
“Obviously not where I want to be, but just got to keep getting better every day,” Anthony told reporters. “The hand is tricky, and I’ve never dealt with a hand issue before. Getting the news that it’s nothing serious is the best news we’ve could have gotten.
“When the IL stint is over, I plan to be in that game the next day and off the IL.”
Anthony has experienced a slow start to his second MLB season, batting .229 with only one home run through 30 games.
“Just got to get better as fast as I can,” Anthony said.
The Red Sox signed Anthony to an eight-year, $130 million contract midway through his impressive rookie campaign last season, where the former second-round pick posted a slash line of .292/.396/.463 with 18 doubles across 71 games played.
Anthony’s injury comes shortly after the Red Sox axed manager Alex Cora and four members of his coaching staff following a disappointing 10-17 start.
The move, which happened following Boston’s 17-1 win over the Orioles on Saturday, has seemingly not sat well with the players.
Shortstop Trevor Story told reporters that management’s explanation for Cora’s firing was not sufficient.
“Some of the best coaches in the world didn’t get a fair shot,” he said.
Pitcher Garrett Whitlock added: “They made it very clear that we get paid to play baseball, and we need to just focus on playing baseball.”
The Red Sox sit alongside the Blue Jays at the bottom of the AL East, with 16-21 records.
