Roman Anthony is starting a rehab assignment with Double-A Portland on Tuesday, taking the next step back from the torn ligament in his right ring finger. The Red Sox plan to ease him in with a five-inning stint in left field before deciding how many more games he needs.
That matters now because Boston is trying to line up help for the final six weeks of the season, and Anthony is one of the players who can change the shape of the lineup quickly. He was in the leadoff role before the injury, posting a.347 on-base percentage in 22 games there, and the club’s leadoff hitters have managed only a.292 OBP since he went down on May 5.
Trevor Story is on a similar path, only at a different stage. He went 1 for 2 and played four innings in the field for Triple-A Worcester on Monday, then said he could be back with the Red Sox as soon as Friday’s game against the Giants. Chad Tracy said Story is being prepared to play shortstop, and Story will fly to Syracuse on Tuesday for two more games.
The reason that timeline is being watched so closely is simple: Boston has already patched shortstop with Tsung-Che Cheng, Isiah Kiner-Falefa, Marcelo Mayer, Andruw Monasterio and Nick Sogard since Story went on the injured list after sports hernia surgery. Monasterio has started 38 of the 81 games at the position and has a.762 OPS in that stretch, a reminder that the spot has not settled even with a string of fill-ins.
Story said the work now is less about proving he can move and more about finding the speed of the game again. He described it as getting his game legs under him and said he was excited for that next step, while also pointing to the way the team has played and calling the turnaround special. He added that it pushes the players on the IL, and it does. Boston has won 11-1 in that span and has looked like a different club from the one that had been on a six-week surge before dropping seven of nine.
For Anthony, the next checkpoint is straightforward: five innings in left field, then a decision on whether he needs more rehab games before returning. For Story, the question is whether Tuesday and the two games that follow are enough to clear him for Friday or whether Boston waits a little longer. Either way, the Red Sox are getting closer to the reinforcements they have needed for weeks.
