In their first matchup against the recently traded Rafael Devers, the Boston Red Sox took down the San Francisco Giants 7-5 on Friday night. With that reverb of the blockbuster deal still being felt across the league, folks are still making sense of the stunning move that saw Devers head out west. After the win, Red Sox star prospect Roman Anthony provided his take on the situation.
Devers' relationship with Boston's front office deteriorated in front of the public eye over the first few months of the season, and it got to the point where the team felt they were better off without him. In the process, they are placing a lot of faith in their young crop of new stars, with Anthony, the No. 1 prospect in baseball, headlining that group. Anthony didn't spend a lot of time with Devers, but he was very complimentary when speaking about San Francisco's new superstar slugger.
“I got to know him a little bit last year and spent time with him in camp this year. He was always great to me,” Anthony said of Devers. “He was always great to watch. Obviously when you have a hitter who’s generational like him, it’s great and you learn from watching him. You watch their routines. You watch how on-point they are with everything they do. How good his cage work is and everything he does, it’s no mistake why he is as good as he is.”
Roman Anthony looking to help Red Sox move on from Rafael Devers
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Now that Devers is gone, Boston is banking on their big three of star prospects (Anthony, Marcelo Mayer, and Kristian Campbell) to rise up and become the new leaders of the team. It may take some time, but Anthony starred during his stint in the minor leagues, and he will be given all the opportunity in the world to figure things out moving forward now.
In his brief major league debut, Anthony has struggled to the tune of a .097 batting average, but he did pick up a crucial RBI single in their win over the Giants on Friday. Boston will surely be hoping that play gets him going, although they have been finding ways to win even amid his early struggles. After kicking off the series with a win, the Red Sox will have a shot to pick up their fifth straight series victory when they square off against the Giants at 4:05 p.m. ET on Saturday.
