A year ago, the future of the Boston Red Sox centered around Roman Anthony and Marcelo Mayer, two of the top prospects in all of baseball expected to become stars.
Fast forward to August 2026, and neither has been a part of the Red Sox’s miraculous midseason turnaround, with the latter now a member of the San Francisco Giants. Mayer was, of course, traded to the Giants on deadline day, while Anthony has been sidelined with an injury since early May.
It’s not the way anyone drew it up in Boston, and the fact that they already gave up on Mayer has not only raised eyebrows but also sparked online rumors about off-field issues between him and Anthony. Those rumors have grown louder in recent days, forcing chief baseball officer Craig Breslow to firmly shut them down on Thursday
“Yeah, I think nonsense is a good characterization of that. There are no issues with Marcelo and Roman off the field. There are no issues, there never were any issues. Marcelo and Roman are great guys and very talented, who are doing everything they can to get back on the field. Right now, obviously, Marcelo is a San Francisco Giant and Roman is busting his butt to get back and join this team,”
The 22-year-old Anthony signed an eight-year, $130 million contract extension with the Red Sox last August, while Mayer, 23, is playing on a one-year, $783,500 pre-arbitration contract now with the Giants.
We all know how quickly rumors online can spiral out of control, so it’s good for everyone involved that Breslow cleared the air.
All that matters now is that Mayer gets a fresh start in San Francisco and Anthony can hopefully return to action for Boston sooner rather than later as they push for the postseason down the stretch.
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