The Boston Red Sox opened the second game of their three-game set against the New York Yankees at Fenway on Wednesday night without Roman Anthony in the lineup. Alex Cora said the 21-year-old was out because of a sore back, and the Red Sox hoped he could return on Thursday.
Anthony's absence comes at a bad time for Boston, which entered Wednesday with a 9-14 record and was still searching for a rhythm at the plate. The Red Sox offense has not been clicking, and losing Anthony for even a short stretch matters because Boston cannot afford to be without him for long.
The back issue is not new. Anthony dealt with some back tightness in August 2025, a reminder that this is a player the Red Sox have had to monitor before. The question now is not whether he can play through discomfort, but whether Boston can keep him available as it tries to steady a season that has not started the way it wanted.
For now, the Red Sox are treating Wednesday as a short-term absence and Thursday as the target. That keeps the focus on one lineup card and one sore back, the kind of small development that can still carry outsized weight for a team with little margin for error.