Red Sox outfielder Roman Anthony made an immediate impression for Team USA on Tuesday afternoon.
Batting seventh and playing left field, Anthony launched a towering two-run homer in the sixth inning of Team USA’s exhibition game against the Giants. The blast came off right-hander Blake Tidwell and traveled 394 feet with a 101.4 mph exit velocity, according to Statcast.
Team USA cruised to a 15–1 win behind Paul Skenes, who struck out four over three innings. Former Red Sox third baseman Alex Bregman also chipped in with a solo homer.
Anthony was a late addition to Team USA’s roster after Diamondbacks outfielder Corbin Carroll suffered a broken bone in his hand. Despite having just 71 big league games under his belt, Anthony is embracing the opportunity to share the stage with some of the game’s best players.
“I’m sure I joked about it, but it’s not really one of those things that I put a timeline on,” Anthony said last month. “It’s something you think about — like, yeah, I want to do this at some point, whether it’s a few years down the road, 10 years down the road, whatever it may be.”
“Getting to represent the USA at any time would be more than a blessing,” he added. “I didn’t necessarily think it would be this time around, but I’m excited to do it and excited to get going.”
Team USA will officially open World Baseball Classic pool play on Friday against Team Brazil.
Anthony wasn’t the only member of the Red Sox who impressed in exhibition play on Tuesday.
Ceddanne Rafaela suited up for the Netherlands and went 2-for-4 with a home run, a double, and five RBIs in an 8–5 win over the Orioles.
Rafaela’s homer was a three-run shot in the top of the second that gave the Netherlands a 4–2 lead. He followed it up in the third inning with a two-run double in his next at-bat.
Rafaela is making his World Baseball Classic debut for the Netherlands after declining an invitation three years ago to focus on his role with the Red Sox.
Now, he’s especially excited to share a dugout with former Red Sox shortstop Xander Bogaerts.
“Yeah, I think that’s something special,” Rafaela said. “It’s something I’ve looked forward to since I didn’t play in [the WBC] in ’23, because I wanted to play with Xander. I’d say that’s the main reason I’m going to be there — I was looking forward to playing with him when he was [with the Red Sox], but things didn’t go that way.”
Crochet Hit with Spring Loss
Garrett Crochet made another spring start on Wednesday, facing the New York Yankees at JetBlue Park.
Yankees shortstop prospect George Lombard Jr. went 2-for-2 off the Sox ace. Lombard, a 20-year-old shortstop currently ranked as MLB’s No. 46 prospect according to Baseball America, led off the game by crushing a 1-2 fastball 392 feet over the Monster in left field.
Crochet sent down eight straight batters between Lombard’s two at-bats, striking out three while consistently hitting 97 mph in Wednesday’s 4-0 loss. The southpaw surrendered three runs over 2 2/3 innings, spread across four frames, tossing 34 pitches for strikes (53 total).
“I felt like I was just not really convicted in the [four-seamer],” Crochet said. “I was just talking about that with Kutter [Crawford], just trying to push it up in the zone instead of just throwing it up in the zone. But that was a good swing, because it was still a good bullet by me.”
It’s bad news for Red Sox infielder Brendan Rodgers.
Alex Cora told reporters that Rodgers will likely need surgery on his right shoulder. He’s expected to seek another opinion, but the initial MRI results were not positive, according to the Boston Herald’s Mac Cerullo.
Rodgers will see Dr. Neal ElAttrache regarding his shoulder.
Boston signed Rodgers to a minor league contract in February and the 2022 Gold Glove winner was competing for a roster spot, but his latest injury might derail his entire 2026 season.
Rodgers injured his shoulder on Feb. 25 in a Grapefruit League game against the Twins when he dove for the ball at second base. The 29-year-old landed on his left shoulder, reached for the ball and came down on his right shoulder. There initially was optimism about Rodgers’ shoulder after the strength tests were positive. Rodgers has had labrum surgery in both of his shoulders, the right in 2019 and the left in 2023.
It won’t be easy for Brendan Rodgers to make the roster with Andruw Monasterio continuing to look good at the plate, but he has his first hit of the spring.
2-run single to make it 4-0 Red Sox. Against a righty too.pic.twitter.com/BAXCRORo4k
— Tyler Milliken (@tylermilliken_) February 25, 2026
Another Red Sox non-roster invitee has been shut down following an injury setback.
Vinny Nittoli experienced elbow pain during his last outing on Saturday against the Twins and has been shut down, Cora said on Wednesday. Nittoli underwent an MRI on Tuesday but the club is still awaiting the results.
“We’ll know more today, but he was in pain so we have to shut him down,” Cora said.
Nittoli has pitched in just 15 MLB games over four seasons that spans from 2021-24, most recently pitching for the Orioles. The 35-year-old spent all of last season in Triple-A, posting a 4.58 ERA with 46 strikeouts over 39 1/3 innings split between the Brewers and Orioles’ affiliates.
Alex Cora says Vinny Nittoli felt pain in his elbow during his last outing and he’s been shut down. He had an MRI yesterday and the team is still awaiting the results.
— Mac Cerullo (@MacCerullo) March 4, 2026
Prior to the injury this spring, Nittoli had appeared in three games for the Red Sox, posting two scoreless innings sandwiched around an ugly showing where he allowed four runs over 2/3 of a frame.
Romy Gonzalez has been out with left shoulder soreness and will be reevaluated on Friday, just six weeks out from his PRP shot. Once the club gets more information, they’ll decide how they’d like to proceed with the utilityman.
Gonzalez doesn’t think he’ll be ready for Opening Day, which could open the door for Andruw Monasterio to make the 26-man roster.
“Honestly, I don’t think so,” Gonzalez said at JetBlue Park on Feb, 25. “At this point, I think the ramp-up would be a little too quick and it’d be a disservice I feel like to myself and the team if I’m not ready to roll and have a good build-up.”
The Sox were initially planning to platoon Gonzalez at second base, particularly against southpaws with Marcelo Mayer getting reps against righties. He had a .331/.378/.600/.978 line in 143 plate appearances vs. left-handed pitchers last season.
The Red Sox traded left-hander Kyle Harrison in a multi-player deal in February that sent infielder Caleb Durbin and others back to Boston.
Harrison arrived in Brewers camp, unveiling a new changeup that has
