Roman Anthony Reportedly Wasn't Discussed in Red Sox's Failed Joe Ryan Trade Talks

Even though the Minnesota Twins had talks with the Boston Red Sox about Joe Ryan leading up to the trade deadline, one player whose name never came up in discussions was Roman Anthony.

Per The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal, it was the Twins who "did not even broach the possibility" of acquiring Anthony if they had made a deal with Boston for Ryan.

Despite some disappointment from Boston about the club's lack of significant activity prior to the July 31 deadline, the front office reportedly made a big push to add Ryan that didn't quite get to the finish line.

ESPN's Jeff Passan reported the Red Sox "came close" in a deal for Ryan and they were "willing to part with a number of high-end prospects" to land the right-handed pitcher.

It's unclear which players the Red Sox were willing to discuss, but Rosenthal noted it wouldn't have been unreasonable for Twins to ask about Jarren Duran or Wilyer Abreu.

While it wouldn't have been a shock if the Red Sox took Anthony off the table, it's a bit surprising the Twins didn't even attempt to ask about him.

That request almost certainly would have been immediately rebuffed given how highly regarded Anthony is and how quickly he is adapting to hitting at the MLB level, but you never know if you don't ask.

Minnesota was a surprisingly active seller at the deadline that saw 10 players from the MLB roster dealt in an attempt to cut payroll with ownership looking to sell the franchise.

Ryan would have presumably brought back a huge haul given that he is under team control through 2027. He's also in the midst of the best season of his career with a 2.83 ERA and 141 strikeouts in 127.1 innings.

As good as Ryan has been this season, it's hard to imagine the Red Sox giving up Anthony in a deal for him. The 21-year-old was ranked as the No. 2 overall prospect coming into 2025 by MLB.com.

After spending the first two months of the season in Triple-A, Anthony made his MLB debut on June 9. He is currently hitting .283/.400/.428 in 190 plate appearances, ranking second among all rookies with a .368 weighted on-base average.

Even though there is an outfield logjam in Boston right now with four players for three spots, Anthony would likely be at the bottom of that group in terms of who would get traded.

The Red Sox are currently the hottest team in MLB with a six game winning streak entering Tuesday. They have passed the New York Yankees for the No. 1 wild card spot in the AL and are only three games behind the Toronto Blue Jays for first place in the AL East.