One of the reasons Craig Breslow offered for his extended delay in elevating Roman Anthony to the major league roster earlier this year was that he and the organization simply did not want to place too much pressure on the shoulders of a 21-year-old rookie.
Over the course of three-plus months, that rookie proved that pressure would not be a problem.
Anthony played both corner outfield spots and batted in the top four spots in the order, quickly making himself invaluable to a team making a run at the AL East.
Yet now he’s gone, placed on the injured list with an oblique strain and likely to miss the rest of the regular season and perhaps a week or two of the postseason. Alex Bregman, the only position player who’s been more valuable to the Red Sox since Anthony’s call-up, described it as a “gut punch.”
And while that emotional component will be difficult for the Red Sox to overcome, they’ll still have to take the field 22 times without Anthony to finish the regular season. That means manager Alex Cora will have to mix and match his lineups each night to try to maximize his roster and make up for the significant vacancy at the top of the order.
With that in mind, here’s a look at the picture who may — and may not — be able to step up in Anthony’s absence.
Refsnyder vs. righties
Rob Refsnyder and Romy Gonzalez have been lefty killers all season long. It’s a bit absurd how well they’ve mashed against southpaws, with Gonzalez posting a .994 OPS against lefties and Refsnyder not far behind at .950.
Cora has carefully managed his usage of Refsnyder, who has more than twice as many plate appearances against lefties than he does against righties this season. That may have to change, as Refsnyder is the most logical option to get more playing time in right field.
But Refsnyder will have to prove he can be better against righties. He’s hitting just .234 against them this year (compared to .300 vs. lefties) with a .620 OPS. Those numbers are in line with his career numbers vs. righties (.231 average, .634 OPS in 738 plate appearances), so it may be unreasonable to expect him to suddenly become a different player.
Yet in the midst of a tight playoff roster, Refsnyder and his 10 years of big league experience should at least make him comfortable in some big spots.
Where is Wilyer?
The Anthony absence would be much less of a concern if Wilyer Abreu was nearing a return. Alas, the Gold Glove right fielder has not had a quick recovery from his calf injury, and his return to the field does not seem at all imminent.
Cora told WEEI on Wednesday that Abreu is “not close” to returning, noting that Abreu still has not run since going on the IL in mid-August.
Abreu was in the midst of an excellent year, batting .253 with 22 home runs, 69 RBIs and an .811 OPS in his second full season in the majors. His return would be a major boost to the lineup and in the field, but he hasn’t played since Aug. 17, and the clock is ticking on him being able to return at all.
The Password
When Abreu went to the IL, the Red Sox called up their top outfield prospect, Jhostynxon Garcia — aka “The Password.” The 22-year-old saw the field in five games with Boston, and he went just 2-for-7 with two walks and five strikeouts in his limited opportunities.
Garcia has handled the transition to Triple-A well this year, as he has a .904 OPS with 17 homers in 69 games for the WooSox.
Yet Garcia may not quite be ready for a regular role on a team making a playoff run in September, and Cora likely won’t be eager to have Garcia on the field in big spots down the stretch.
Remember Kristian Campbell?
It wasn’t all that long ago that Kristian Campbell became the first of the “Big Three” to make it to the majors, making the team out of camp and signing an eight-year extension shortly thereafter.
Yet after a hot start (.313/.420/.515 in his first 28 games), Campbell batted just .154 with a .451 OPS in his next 39 games. Campbell was sent down to Worcester in late June and has yet to return to Boston.
Campbell has played well for Worcester, with an .831 OPS while playing second base, left field and center field being moved to first base as part of the potential solution to that Red Sox problem in the wake of Triston Casas’ season-ending injury.
While Campbell has seemingly proven himself at the Triple-A level, Cora didn’t sound eager to have Campbell rejoin the Red Sox when discussing the 23-year-old in mid-August.
“It’s the same things he struggled here with,” Cora said, per MassLive’s Chris Cotillo. “Pitch recognition, covering certain shapes of fastballs. That’s something that’s hard because he’s not gonna get that down there. He’s not. The velo here is harder, it’s faster. Locations are on point here. With all due respect to the players down there, the gap is a big gap. Just one of those where we’ve got to keep working. He’s got to keep working and see what the future holds.”
Clearly, Cora was of the belief that Campbell still had work to do. Will the losses of Abreu and Anthony change his mind?
And lastly … Nate Eaton
The person who literally replaced Anthony on Tuesday night was Nate Eaton, and he actually came through with a big hit to set the stage for Boston’s four-run eighth inning.
Eaton has been a minor contributor for the Red Sox this year, playing in 21 games and batting .275 with a .658 OPS. Eaton has posted good numbers for Worcester (.290/.373/.483) and given his speed, he makes sense as a bench option for Cora to use in certain spots.
But at 28 years old, Eaton is well-established as a fringe major leaguer and thus won’t see extended usage over the final four weeks of the season.
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