“I don’t have anything to prove to anyone.”
That’s what beleaguered Boston Red Sox player Roman Anthony told reporters Tuesday.
Anthony played earlier this week for Triple-A Worcester after a stint with the Double-A Portland Sea Dogs last week.
During the Portland appearance a week ago, Anthony blasted a blistering homer that left the ballpark – and landed in an adjacent stadium.
It was Anthony’s first game since injuring his hand in May with Boston.
“It felt great,” Anthony said, according to MLB.com. “It was kind of like that stock, standard first game back where you’re just going out there and playing like a kid again.”
Anthony suffered a partially torn tendon in the joint that connects to his right ring finger on May 4.
He is following a rookie year in which he posted gangbuster numbers with 27 extra-base hits (eight homers) in 71 games, reports MLB’s Josh Jackson.
Anthony missed the final month of last season with an oblique strain and has had other injury scares as well.
From Portland, the Sox sent Anthony to Worcester to hopefully get ready for a return this weekend to Fenway.
After hitting his third home run in five games of minor-league rehab on Tuesday, Anthony looks ready to play Yankees in the Bronx this weekend, according to Jackson Roberts of SI.com.
“I don’t have anything to say to anyone or anything to prove to anyone,” Anthony said after Worcester’s latest victory. “I’m just excited to get back and play baseball. People are going to talk regardless – good or bad.”
The Red Sox have to hope that the 22-year-old they gave $130 million last summer can give them more seasons of at least 100 games than he’s shown he can so far, Roberts says.
