Roman Anthony is out against the Yankees. Here’s who replaces him

Roman Anthony missed Boston’s September 30 wild-card Game 2 lineup against the New York Yankees after aggravating his right hand and wrist injury in the series opener at Yankee Stadium. The Red Sox replaced him on their playoff roster with Curtis Mead, and manager Chad Tracy said Anthony would miss the rest of the postseason, USA TODAY reported.

But Mead’s activation did not put him in the starting lineup. Jahmai Jones was named the designated hitter, the position Anthony occupied in Game 1, while Nate Eaton started in left field. Mead was available on the roster after a wrist fracture had kept him out since his Boston debut in July.

What happened to Roman Anthony’s hand?

Anthony struck out in both of his Game 1 at-bats against Cam Schlittler, on check swings, before leaving the game. Boston lost 9-0. Field Level Media reported that Andruw Monasterio replaced Anthony in the sixth inning.

Anthony traveled from Yankee Stadium to Boston after that game, arriving overnight for more imaging on Wednesday morning. Tracy said the scans showed further damage. Anthony, whose official diagnosis was a right hand strain, returned to Yankee Stadium before Game 2, according to USA TODAY’s Gabe Lacques.

“It was just super alarming and it got to a point where it was tough to grip a bat,” Anthony said. That change prompted the decision to get further imaging. USA TODAY reported that he described himself to Boston reporters as “heartbroken.”

The injury had already limited Anthony, 22, to 55 games during the season. He hit .245 with five home runs and 15 RBIs, according to Field Level Media.

Does the roster change end Anthony’s postseason?

USA TODAY reported Tracy’s assessment that Anthony was out for the remainder of the playoffs. The automatic roster restriction is narrower: MLB’s injury-replacement rule bars a removed player from the current round and the next one.

Field Level Media reported that MLB approved Boston’s substitution after reviewing medical information. Anthony would therefore be ineligible for the American League Division Series, but technically eligible for the Championship Series if Boston advanced that far. That eligibility does not establish that he would be healthy enough to play.

MLB’s postseason roster rules also specify that a position player must be replaced by another position player. The league’s general rule explains the eligibility restriction; it does not provide a medical recovery forecast for Anthony.

The treatment plan remained unsettled in the September 30 reports. Asked whether surgery might be necessary, Tracy said, “I don’t know the answer to that yet,” according to Field Level Media. He said the imaging showed more damage than had originally been present.

Boston baseball operations president Craig Breslow also said the club was still determining what had happened and what Anthony’s prognosis would be. “But as far I know, the rehab, the return to play was the appropriate one,” he told USA TODAY.

Why Curtis Mead returned now

Mead’s own comeback had barely reached live pitching. He had not played since July 27, when a pitch fractured his left wrist during his Red Sox debut against the Athletics in West Sacramento. Boston had acquired him from the Washington Nationals for left-hander Connelly Early.

In its July reporting, MLB.com quoted Tracy describing a non-displaced fracture that would be treated with a cast rather than surgery. The club planned repeat imaging and had left open the possibility that Mead could return that season.

USA TODAY reported that Mead took batting practice against a Trajekt machine on Saturday and Monday, then faced live pitching on Tuesday for the first time during his comeback. Anthony’s injury created the opening for his activation.

“Honestly, it’s not ideal, right?” Mead said of his shortened preparation. He nevertheless said he believed he could contribute with teammates hurt. He had followed Anthony’s recovery while working through his own injury and said he had hoped to be ready for this stage of the playoffs.

Who was in Boston’s Game 2 lineup?

Boston’s announced batting order began with Jones at designated hitter, followed by catcher Adley Rutschman, first baseman Willson Contreras, right fielder Wilyer Abreu and center fielder Ceddanne Rafaela. Caleb Durbin, Nick Sogard, Trevor Story and Eaton completed the order at third base, second base, shortstop and left field respectively.

Jarren Duran was on the bench, while Mead was outside the starting nine. Patrick McAvoy’s report for Boston Red Sox On SI listed Sonny Gray as Boston’s starter against Yankees left-hander Max Fried.

Boston entered that September 30 game one loss from elimination, having managed three hits and struck out 11 times in the opener. The pregame stakes were to force a third game on Thursday. The September 30 lineup and injury reports cited here do not establish the Game 2 result.