BALTIMORE, MD – AUGUST 27: Roman Anthony #19 of the Boston Red Sox looks on during the game between the Boston Red Sox and the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on Wednesday, August 27, 2025 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Olivia Vega/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
MLB Photos via Getty Images
The Boston Red Sox made their first postseason in the last three years thanks to a strong roster of veteran talent. But the team was boosted by a notable youth movement as well, including a remarkable campaign from highly touted rookie Roman Anthony.
After performing as the top-ranked prospect in all of Major League Baseball, Anthony received his callup to the big-league club in June and proceeded to post a stellar .292/.396/.463 slash line in 257 total at-bats. He signed an eight-year, $130 million contract with the Red Sox, according to Spotrac, that could prove to be a major coup for the team.
His rookie season was so strong that he has been named a finalist for the American League’s Rookie of the Year Award, despite a relatively short stint in the majors.
“The fact that Anthony is even a finalist with 303 plate appearances proves how strong his body of work was in his initiation to the Majors,” MLB.com noted. “There is a precedent for a player winning Rookie of the Year with even fewer plate appearances, but you’d have to go back to Willie McCovey, who won in the National League with 219 plate appearances for the Giants in 1959 — a season in which he made up for lost time with a 1.085 OPS.”
Anthony faces some significant competition for the award, with the Athletics’ Nick Kurtz and Jacob Wilson also named as finalists. But following the announcement that Anthony was in the mix, Red Sox manager Alex Cora offered his thoughts on what the star rookie contributed in his debut season.
“The kid, he’s a great at-bat, he’s a great baserunner,” Cora said during an appearance on MLB Network. “If you look at his season, you know who he is, you know what he’s going to do and just very happy that I’m going to be able to manage him at least for the next two years.”
Anthony was unable to participate in the Red Sox’s playoff run due to injury, and the absence of his bat might have cost the team its chance to advance past the New York Yankees in the wild card round. But at just 21 years old, Anthony promises to be a significant factor in the batting order for years to come, with elite baserunning and defensive skills to boot.
As the Red Sox look to build on their playoff momentum, surrounding him with some more star talent could be a worthy investment for the team this winter.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/peterchawaga/2025/11/10/red-sox-skipper-sends-roman-anthony-message-after-rookie-of-the-year-update/
