It has now been 18 days since Roman Anthony injured the ring finger on his right hand during a swing in Detroit, and the outfielder is still unable to swing a bat without some pain. The fact that Anthony hasn't progressed to the point of being able to play has left many wondering what the timetable for a return might be, which is why team president Sam Kennedy was asked by Greg Hill Friday morning.
"From what I understand, he's got a sprain in the ligament at the base of the ring finger, there's no evidence of the tear," Kennedy said in his latest appearance on the Greg Hill Show. "The imaging is negative. There's been a second opinion to confirm that, but hand injuries are really tough for baseball players. That's why we don't like to put a timetable on it, because these things, are really, really difficult in terms of projecting how long something will take. I can tell you, he wants to get out there as fast as humanly possible, but he wants to do it in a way where he's not going to have a reoccurrence of the injury. So that's what we know, he's battling through it. I know he wants to get out there as fast as humanly possible."
Anthony seemed to be making progress after receiving a cortisone shot, which allowed him to play catch. But earlier this week, interim manager Chad Tracy revealed that the team decided not to move forward with hitting activities after Anthony experienced discomfort while attempting to swing.
“I think his mind was like, ‘I’m getting back soon.' And then that little motion with the swing still bothers it," Tracy told reporters in Kansas City. "I know he wants to be out there helping us, but he’s very, very mature... understands that he has to be healthy and you can’t hit in Major League Baseball without full strength of your hand. So he knows that and he also knows we’ll get him right and we’ll get him back eventually."
Other items touched on by Kennedy included:
- The Red Sox are actively attempting to improve their offense, with some signs pointing to earlier trade talk activity throughout Major League Baseball than normal.
"There's been conversations going on earlier than ever before on that front," Kennedy said. "It's obviously hard. The American League is so bunched up. There's some National League teams that are, I'd say, more engaged in conversations than typical at this time of the year, but yeah, if the question is Craig (Breslow) and his team in baseball operations trying to improve the team right now, the answer is yes. Will we be able to get a deal done or match up on something I have no idea is the truth, but there's conversations, there's urgency, and that's something that's that's important, and hopefully something that could be done, you know, earlier rather than later. But you know, there's two ways to improve with the existing group, and then new phases, so we're gonna, we're gonna try on both, both of those."
- Kennedy confirmed that the "Tarps Off" movement - which has seen hundreds of fans remove their shirts in stadiums around MLB in celebration of their teams - would be allowed at Fenway Park.
"We've seen lots of different displays from our fans over the years. The rule is this: we just have to make sure that fans are not harming the enjoyment for other fans. So, as long as people are behaving respectfully, we're good," he said.
