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The Boston Red Sox's trade deadline decisions will be partially determined by which players they have on the injured list and how long they're expected to be there. Unfortunately for Boston, it's got a laundry list of unavailable players as August 3 approaches.
The Sox won't be getting their most promising young bat back anytime soon. Roman Anthony's recovery from his ring finger ligament tear continues in Fort Myers, emphasizing Boston's need to add a power bat to keep its recent winning going.
Anthony is still not swinging a bat, according to Alex Speier of The Boston Globe (subscription required). The Red Sox previously mentioned that his progression is a matter of pain management and that he could begin swinging when he could handle the pain in his hand, but interim manager Chad Tracy has changed his tune, saying that the outfielder won't swing until he's pain-free.
Roman Anthony is still not swinging and the Red Sox have no plans to rush him
A healthy Anthony could dramatically change the Red Sox's already-improved offense, but rushing him back into action makes no sense when the team has played its best baseball without him. It will take weeks of ramping up, plus a rehab assignment before Anthony can safely return to the Red Sox, so maybe pursuing a rental power bat is a good idea for Craig Breslow.
Trevor Story sees Red Sox rehab assignment coming up, but no set dates yet
The Sox might not need to add a rental slugger if Trevor Story comes back and does what he did a season ago at the plate. The shortstop has been on the IL since May 15 with a sports hernia, for which he underwent corrective surgery.
On July 17, Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic reported that Story had increased his hitting and fielding work to move closer to a rehab assignment. The following day, Story told that a rehab assignment "feels close," but he has no official timeline for when he expects it to start (subscription required).
Story had been feeling discomfort in his groin area from spring training to the time of his surgery, which could be the cause (or partial cause) of his regression from 2025: he batted .263/.308/.433 last season and led the team with 25 home runs, only to bat .206/.244/.303 to start 2026. If the hernia hampered Story that much at the beginning of the season, he may be able to return to his home run-hitting self of last season to supply the Red Sox's offense with the thing it needs most: slug.
Ranger Suarez could return to Red Sox as soon as Tuesday to face Orioles
The Red Sox had plenty of starting pitching when their hot streak began but Ranger Suarez and Connelly Early have since hit the IL with different injuries. Boston expects Suarez to return sooner, and recent reporting from Speier suggests he could come back to face the Baltimore Orioles.
Suarez on July 19 threw a bullpen session and felt well afterward. The Red Sox will on Monday check in with Suarez, who's been dealing with a groin strain since July 5, to see if he's ready to pitch against Baltimore.
The Sox are down enough starters to be concerning, with Suarez, Early, Garrett Crochet, Johan Oviedo and Kutter Crawford on the IL. Suarez's return is imperative to Boston's depth and success, given his All-Star track record for the year, and his impending return means the Red Sox won't have to look for pitching depth on the trade deadline market.
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This article was originally published on bosoxinjection.com as Red Sox Injury Update: Roman Anthony, Trevor Story timeline, Ranger Suarez progress.
