Red Sox will keep trying to prove the game 'on paper' doesn't matter with Roman Anthony out for playoff push

Roman Anthony had been a linchpin in the Red Sox playoff chase since his MLB debut in early June. Rarely does a rookie tilt the needle like Anthony -- especially in Boston, where every move is magnified and winning remains the expectation even in lean years.

Anthony delivered. He hit .292/.396/.463 with an .859 OPS and eight homers in 71 games, arguably becoming the club's best hitter. The team went 44-27 over that stretch, and his presence pushed them closer to October baseball.

But his strained oblique, which will likely sideline him for the rest of the regular season and possibly into the playoffs, adds a significant amount of turbulence to that postseason push. 

"Losing Roman is a gut punch," Red Sox third baseman Alex Bregman told reporters after Tuesday's win over the Guardians. "Obviously, one of the best players in all of baseball, but we've got to continue to push along. No one needs to try and do more. We just need to continue to find ways to win."

The Red Sox, for what it's worth, sit in a good spot in the wild card race. They entered Friday a half-game behind the Yankees for the top American League wild card spot and 4 ½ games ahead of the Mariners, who have been in a free fall.

SportsLine gives the Red Sox a 97.2% chance to make the postseason in an American League marked by parity and underwhelming play. They've taken hits all season and kept pushing.

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The club even traded its highest-paid player, Rafael Devers, after he refused to play first base -- a stalemate that never got resolved before the deal. After the move, chief baseball officer Craig Breslow doubled down, saying he believed the team would win more without Devers.

The team was 37-36 with Devers. They have gone 41-27 without him. Within that, too, was a Bregman quad injury, forcing him to miss nearly two months. In his absence, from the end of May toward the middle part of July, the Sox managed a 24-19 record, holding onto a playoff spot upon Bregman's return.

The Sox have taken punches before and kept winning. Now, without Anthony, they'll have to do it again.

But it gets tricky, especially with this roster, because Anthony isn't the only outfielder sidelined. Wilyer Abreu hasn't played since Aug. 17 because of a strained calf. His recovery has been slow -- as of Wednesday, he still hadn't started running. Abreu won a Gold Glove there last year. Anthony, while shaky at times and not a long-term answer in right, was at least serviceable. Now, the club is down to Rob Refsnyder, a 34-year-old whom Alex Cora must deploy carefully to keep healthy.

Ceddanne Rafaela is the club's everyday center fielder, but he's also been pressed into duty at second base because of Marcelo Mayer's season-ending wrist surgery. On days Rafaela is at second, Jarren Duran or Nick Eaton shift to center. Until Abreu returns, who plays right field will largely be based on the pitcher on the mound. 

The Red Sox believe that one of the remedies to these injuries is their pitching. 

"We [have] to keep pitching," Cora said. "We keep pitching and playing good defense. I think Roman is part of that. But the pitching has been the key this season and we expect to keep pitching and other guys have to step up offensively."

The Sox have looked like one of baseball's better rotations... at times. Consistency has been an issue. Since June, their starters own a 3.76 ERA, seventh in the majors, with a 1.26 WHIP that ranks 15th.

Garrett Crochet was in the Cy Young conversation with Tarik Skubal before giving up seven runs over six innings to the Guardians earlier this week. His 4.38 ERA over his last six starts is inflated by that outing, but this is still uncharted territory for him. Last season was his first time starting at any level. For the Sox to make a run, Crochet will have to be their horse, just as he has been most of the season. Brayan Bello has been steady with a 3.07 ERA in 146 ⅔ innings, and the Sox will need him to stay that way. Lucas Giolito has been solid, posting a 3.38 ERA in 22 starts.

After that, things get murky. Rookie Payton Tolle impressed in his MLB debut against the Pirates but remains untested. And with Dustin May struggling badly, the Sox don't have a reliable fifth starter. The trio of Crochet, Bello, and Giolito will have to continue to perform. 

Offensively, Bregman will have to get back to his old form. Since Aug. 15, he has a .211 batting average and a .558 OPS. He's without a homer in that span. 

When Devers was traded, on paper, the Red Sox didn't look like a team that could contend. 

"But this isn't about the game that is played on paper," Breslow said. "This is about the game that's played on the field." 

On paper, the Sox still don't look like a true contender. But if this season has shown anything, it's that nothing about this team has been predictable.