What happened to Roman Anthony? Why Red Sox waited to place star OF on IL

What happened to Roman Anthony? Why Red Sox waited to place star OF on IL originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The Boston Red Sox have had a bit of a rough season, firing Alex Cora and dealing with a ton of injuries to key players on their roster.

And now, Roman Anthony is hitting the injured list. He lands on the 10-day IL and will now miss some time. But he's already missed a few games, so why didn't the Red Sox place him on the IL before?

Well, as Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com reports, the Red Sox can place Anthony on the IL retroactive to a certain date to make his wait on the IL not as long as the 10-day IL suggests he will be out for.

Why Red Sox waited to place Roman Anthony on IL

"Anthony's IL stint shouldn't be long, and the Red Sox can backdate it to Tuesday, putting a potential return a week from now in Atlanta, if he's ready," Cotillo reports. "Hard to play a man short for 5-6 days."

This report from Cotillo makes it clear why the Red Sox didn't place Anthony on the IL on Tuesday, when he first looked likely to miss some time.

Boston took the chance that they could get Anthony back sooner rather than later, but now, with his injury, a wrist issue following an awkward swing, he will miss a bit more time than they were hoping for.