SEATTLE — Roman Anthony has made all six of his starts in right field since the Red Sox called him up from Triple-A Worcester on June 9 to take injured Wilyer Abreu’s spot on the active roster.
Abreu, a Gold Glove right fielder, said he plans to return from the 10-day injured list Friday when the Red Sox open a three-game series in San Francisco.
Where will Anthony, the game’s No. 1 prospect, play when Abreu returns?
“We’re about to see but Wily is going to play a lot of defense,” manager Alex Cora said before Boston’s game against the Mariners on Tuesday at T-Mobile Park.
Is DH a possibility for Anthony?
“We’ll use the DH to our advantage,” Cora said. “Sometimes (left fielder) Jarren (Duran) will need some days off his feet. Roman can play center. So we’ll maximize the roster. We’ll do that.”
Ceddanne Rafaela is tied with Cubs’ Pete Crow-Armstrong for the most defensive runs saved (11) among center fielders. But Rafaela is potentially an option to move to second base because the outfield is so crowded.
“We love him in center,” Cora said. “We love him in the lineup. He’s doing a lot of good things. I think right now it’s more about where we’re at during the game for him to come down and play a few innings (at second) and then get back to the outfield. As of right now, I don’t see him starting at second — until he starts.”
Cora said he’s comfortable bouncing Anthony around to all three outfield spots in the majors. Anthony started 29 games in left field, 11 games in center field, four games in right field and 14 games at DH for Worcester this season.
“We’re here to win,” Cora said. “The lineup here is not to develop guys. It’s to win games. So we’ll maximize the roster and we’ll use it to our advantage. We’ve got Ref (Rob Refsnyder) playing today for a reason. This is who we are now. And I think we’ve got a bunch of moving parts that are going to help us win games.”
