Anthony also discussed the lineup questions facing Boston in the upcoming season.
Roman Anthony during a Red Sox-Twins spring training game in Feb. 2026. Barry Chin/Globe Staff
February 27, 2026 | 1:53 PM
2 minutes to read
Despite his youth, Roman Anthony isn’t wasting time before setting sights on the loftiest possible objective for the Red Sox.
Speaking in a spring training interview with WEEI’s “The Greg Hill Show” on Friday, the 21-year-old outfielder outlined the stakes for Boston. Though he’s totaled just 257 career at-bats (in 71 games as a rookie in 2025), Anthony already has a sense of Red Sox nation and the passion within the fanbase.
“I think that’s why we’re blessed to be here,” Anthony told WEEI co-host Jermaine Wiggins. “You look around at Fenway, regardless of the record, regardless of the score, and it’s Tuesday night and it’s sold out. The place is rocking 24/7. You go on the road and you can go to different places and it can be a Friday night on the weekend and you look around there’s no one there and it’s dead.
“So you realize how passionate these fans are and how passionate the city is, and just all of New England in general when it comes to sports,” he added. “For us in particular, we’re so grateful for the way that they show out every night and the way that they support us and hold us to a standard.”
Anthony noted that the players also hold themselves accountable, especially when it comes to the objective for the season: Making it to the World Series.
“At the same time, we hold ourselves to a very high standard,” said Anthony. “We expect to go out there and win every day. Anything short of a World Series for us is a failure. We know that in the clubhouse. So at the same time we’re obviously super grateful for it, but we know that we’re not too worried about outside expectations when we already put a big expectation on ourselves.”
Heading into the 2026 season, the Red Sox currently have an outsider’s chance at the World Series, according to odds via DraftKings (15:1 odds, which places six teams ahead of Boston).
One of the critical components of the team that will likely determine its success is the Red Sox offense. Facing questions after a disappointing offseason (which included the departure of third baseman Alex Bregman in free agency), Boston will need players like Anthony to flourish. It might be asking a lot of Anthony, who hit .292 with an .859 OPS a year ago.
Still, the former top prospect said that the discussion of the offense has already reached the team’s clubhouse.
“We’ve heard that a little bit in the clubhouse, and we kind of joke about it because I think we have a lot more of a complete lineup than people think,” Anthony said when asked about the question marks facing the roster. “I think the additions that we added were exactly what we needed. Talk about adding guys like [Caleb] Durbin, guys who just put the ball in play, [Isiah Kiner-Falefa], things like that to just help our lineup to be a more complete lineup.”
“We’ve got a great lineup down there,” he added. “We believe in ourselves. We know what we stand for and what we’re trying to do every single day. We know what the end-goal is ultimately.”
The Red Sox begin the 2026 regular season on March 26 in Cincinnati against the Reds at 4:10 p.m.
Hayden Bird is a sports staff writer for Boston.com, where he has worked since 2016. He covers all things sports in New England.
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