Roman Anthony only appeared in 71 big league games this past season, but his performance over that small sample was still almost enough to net him some impressive hardware.
Anthony finished third in the American League Rookie of the Year vote, which was announced by Major League Baseball and the Baseball Writers Association of America on Monday night.
Athletics slugger Nick Kurtz won the award unanimously after leading all rookies with 36 home runs and earning Silver Slugger honors, and Athletics teammate Jacob Wilson finished second.
Anthony earned three second-place votes, 15 third-place votes and had 72 points overall to finish third in the vote. Wilson won 23 second-place votes to tally 107 points.
Red Sox catcher Carlos Narvaez also earned Rookie of the Year consideration, finishing sixth overall after earning two third-place votes, three fourth-place votes and three fifth-place votes for 21 points total.
Coming into the season as MLB’s No. 1 overall prospect, Anthony tore up the minors before finally earning his big league call-up on June 9. Over the next three months he batted .292 with eight home runs and an .859 OPS, establishing himself as Boston’s leadoff hitter and helping elevate the Red Sox from an underperforming 32-35 outfit at the time of his promotion to a postseason club.
Those numbers don’t fully capture Anthony’s impact.
The 21-year-old initially struggled upon his arrival but quickly adjusted to the higher level of competition. After going 2 for 27 (.074) in his first nine games, Anthony batted .317 with seven home runs and a .910 OPS over a 62-game stretch from June 20 onwards. Six of those homers came in August, and while he didn’t amass enough plate appearances to qualify for Statcast’s leaderboards, his overall metrics still ranked among the best in baseball.
Anthony also earned rave reviews for his defense and baserunning. According to Fangraphs he tallied plus-seven defensive runs saved, which was tied for 28th among all MLB outfielders despite Anthony having played half or even a third as many innings as most of the other leaders. Among those who played fewer than 500 innings in the outfield, Anthony was tied for third.
The Red Sox rewarded Anthony with an eight-year, $130 million contract extension, which ranked among the most lucrative ever given to a player with less than a year of big league service time and will ensure he remains in Boston through the rest of the decade and beyond.
“I think we’ve talked a lot over the last couple of months about this athletic, dynamic team that we’re looking to build, and Roman suits that perfectly,” Chief Baseball Officer Craig Breslow said during the press conference announcing Anthony’s extension. “And if you look at the success the team has enjoyed, that kind of lines up almost perfectly with his debut, I think you start to see a clearer picture of the impact he’s had.”
Anthony’s season came to an abrupt end on Sept. 2, when he suffered a left oblique strain that wound up sidelining him for the rest of Boston’s season. The rookie did not play in the club’s AL Wild Card series against the New York Yankees, though the team hoped he could have eventually returned if the Red Sox made a deep enough run.
Instead, Anthony is expected to report to spring training fully healthy and should enter 2026 as one of the club’s top players.