Boston Red Sox
Anthony recently told reporters that he began experiencing back tightness after taking a swing during a game.
Roman Anthony’s rookie season was cut short last year due to an oblique strain. Daniel Parhizkaran/Global Staff
The top of the Boston Red Sox lineup will look different for the third straight game.
Roman Anthony will miss his third straight game as he deals with back tightness, according to the Red Sox starting lineup ahead of Friday’s series opener against the Baltimore Orioles.
Anthony, 21, last played in Tuesday’s home opener against the New York Yankees. He said that his back problem appeared during that match.
After Thursday’s loss and sweep by the Yankees, Anthony detailed his illness to reporters.
“Just a weird thing that happened on the swing,” Anthony described the origin of his injury (Via Christopher Smith of MassLive). “It was weird. I felt something. It was pretty cold, so I didn’t have a great idea what it was. I went back to the dugout and watched the video again. I hit it and it turned into a face, then I went back to the dugout and put my helmet on and I felt something and realized it was a little weird.”
Anthony explained that the problem was in his upper back, a place where he said he had never had a physical problem before. He said he wasn’t worried about his back being tight.
Anthony’s rookie year was cut short last season due to a left oblique strain in September. It kept him out of Boston’s wild-card series with the Yankees in October, his first playoff appearance since 2021.
The obliques are located on either side of the abdomen and are integral to an individual’s ability to swing a baseball bat.
Anthony noted that his oblique injury in 2025 was worse than what he is currently dealing with.
“I think it’s good to know where I was last year with my obliques and how bad it was and I don’t feel that way about it at all,” Anthony said.
He also said that as of Thursday night, he expects to be back on the diamond “in the next couple of days” (Via Ian Brown of MLB.com). Friday’s return looked promising, so it’s not surprising to see him sidelined for at least one more game entering the weekend.
Anthony, like the rest of the Red Sox bats, has struggled to start the 2026 season. He is batting .225 with a .361 on-base percentage and a .686 OPS. He hit his only home run on April 1 against the Houston Astros and drove in just four runs over 22 games (80 at-bats).
Perhaps a few days of rest will not only help him recover, but will also help him improve his mentality in the batting box when he returns.
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