The Boston Red Sox are back on the right track after a promising 2025 season where they made the playoffs before falling to the New York Yankees. Despite the disappointing loss against their bitter rival, the Red Sox have a promising young core and bounced back from the shocking Rafael Devers trade in admirable fashion, which should give them optimism heading into 2026.
One of the best players from that young core is Roman Anthony, an outfielder and designated hitter who showed signs of potential stardom during an injury-riddled rookie season. Despite those concerns, Boston still has high hopes for Anthony, even hoping that he may become what David Ortiz was for the franchise for so many years.
“There is no sense relitigating how the Red Sox botched their relationship with Devers, or their free-agent negotiations with (Alex) Bregman,” Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic wrote. “But this team appears at least one hitter short even if newly anointed leadoff man Roman Anthony turns into David Ortiz, which seems to be the Sox’s expectation, if not their outright plan.”
Anthony played just 71 games as a rookie, but he hit eight home runs and drove in 32 during that time while hitting .292 with an OPS+ of 140. It was a bit inconsistent, but there was plenty there to be excited about coming into 2026.
Coming into this season, a lot of the hope around Boston's chances as a potential AL pennant contender center around Garrett Crochet and the pitching staff. Crochet was dominant last season and comes into this year as one of the Cy Young favorites.
If Boston does get that kind of production like expected from its arms, Anthony will have to lead the way for a lineup that is a bit unproven. Trevor Story and Jarren Duran are quality hitters, but the top of the lineup will have to do a lot of the heavy lifting for the Red Sox this season. That starts with Anthony, who is expected to be the leadoff man.
Of course, expecting Anthony to be Ortiz-level in just his second season is a tall task. However, improvement on that trend toward becoming an All-Star-level player would be a raging success for one of the most storied franchises in MLB.
