BRONX – (Wire Service Report) – Just when they need their most explosive, young hitter, the season ended for Boston’s outfielder and lead-off hitter Roman Anthony. The Red Sox replaced the injured Anthony on their wild-card series roster with infielder Curtis Mead on Wednesday ahead of Game 2 against the New York Yankees.
Anthony underwent imaging in Boston on Wednesday morning that displayed he had “additional damage to some muscles” in his right hand and wrist, Red Sox manager Chad Tracy said prior to Game 2 of the American League series.
Anthony had an injury to the same hand earlier this season that caused him to miss nearly four months. He returned to action Aug. 30.
“I’ve been experiencing some things with the swings and the check swings over the past six weeks,” Anthony said on Wednesday. “Last night just felt a little bit more intense, a little bit more worse than past swings that have been lingering a little bit longer than the ones I was used to.
“It was just super alarming and it got to a point where it was tough to grip a bat,” Anthony added. “I knew then and there that this was a little bit more similar to the one earlier in the year. That’s why we decided to go get imaging.”
Major League Baseball approved the roster change after reviewing the medical information. Anthony will be ineligible to return if the Red Sox reach the AL Division Series, but he will be eligible to play if Boston advances to the AL Championship Series.
Anthony started Tuesday’s 9-0 loss in Game 1 batting leadoff as the designated hitter and struck out in both at-bats — on check swings — against New York’s Cam Schlittler. The hand injury flared up and he couldn’t continue. Anthony was replaced by Andruw Monasterio in the sixth inning.
Tracy was unsure if the 22-year-old Anthony might require hand surgery.
“I don’t know the answer to that yet,” Tracy said. “I just know that the imaging shows more than what was originally there. So as far as what treatment plans are in the future, haven’t gotten there.
“Just midday today I first found out, yeah, there’s more there that we’re not going to have him. We’ll figure it out as we move along.”
Anthony batted .245 with five homers and 15 RBIs in 55 games.
“After I came back, the hand was never really fully a hundred percent,” Anthony said. “For me, it was to a point where it was tolerable and I was taking certain swings that were sketchy and I was still able to come back and recover enough to just be in there every single day, but, ultimately, I just took a few swings here recently where that wasn’t the case.”
Mead was acquired from the Washington Nationals a few days ahead of the trade deadline and sustained a broken left wrist in his first game with the team.
He was hit by a pitch from Athletics right-hander Jack Perkins in the fourth inning of his debut on July 27.
Mead, 25, hit .254 with 17 homers, 17 doubles and 48 RBIs — all career highs – in 87 games with the Nationals before the trade.
–Field Level Media