Roman Anthony is hitting the injured list.
Red Sox manager Alex Cora announced that news Wednesday on WEEI Afternoons and said the rookie is potentially looking at a recovery timetable of four to six weeks.
“Yeah, he’s going to the IL. He has an oblique strain,” Cora said on WEEI.
Cora added the Red Sox “don’t know” the exact recovery timeline but “it usually takes from four to six weeks.”
Four weeks from Tuesday is Sept. 30, which is the first day of the postseason, with the Wild Card series running through Oct. 2. Six weeks from Tuesday is Oct. 14, which will be after the completion of the ALDS.
“He’s one of our best offensive players,” Cora said. “It sounds harsh, but we have to move on. We’ve got to put that uniform on today and try to win a game. And we’ve been through this before, right? [Triston] Casas and we traded [Rafael Devers]. There’s been a lot of stuff with this team, and we’ve been able to keep going. So I expect the group to do the same thing.”
The rookie outfielder left Tuesday night’s game vs. Cleveland due to oblique tightness and was sent for an MRI on Wednesday.
The 21-year-old Anthony has been exceptional since earning his call-up to the majors in early June.
In 71 games, he’s batted .292 with an .859 OPS, recording 18 doubles, a triple and eight home runs while driving in 32 runs. After being moved into the leadoff spot of Boston’s lineup, Anthony has in late July, he has hit .320 and reached base at a .411 clip, posting a .931 OPS.
While Anthony alone hasn’t been responsible, his call-up represents a pretty stark turnaround for the Red Sox. They were 32-35 when Anthony was elevated from Triple-A Worcester, and they’ve gone 46-27 since he made his debut.
