Roman Anthony discussed how he’s handled the ‘noise’ amid injury absence

Roman Anthony addresses the noise: Red Sox outfielder Roman Anthony is on the verge of returning to the big league roster for the first time in months. And while that’s undeniably good news for a Boston lineup that — when not blessed with star turns like Mickey Gasper’s recent run — could use another bat, there is an additional factor that the 22-year-old is aware of.

Anthony, speaking to MassLive’s Chris Cotillo on Tuesday, said he knows he’s been subjected to criticism from fans and media during his months-long absence.

“I know there’s a lot of noise,” Anthony told Cotillo. “A lot of people have opinions of me or what I do, or my injury or whatever it may be. Everyone has a phone. Everyone has access to say what they want to say, whether it’s true or not. So I stay away from all of it. My ultimate goal was to get out here and to play baseball.”

Seen before the season as a central figure for the Red Sox in 2026, Anthony hasn’t played since May 4 due to a hand injury. He was hitting just .229 in 30 games before the injury.

He took issue with the charge that he hadn’t worked as hard as possible to rehab the hand injury.

“I did everything I could,” Anthony said. “I thought I made that clear. I took all the shots [injections] I could, as soon as I could. I tried to do everything to get back on the field. Unfortunately, maybe we pushed too hard. Every time I tried to do that, it may have set me back a little bit.”

Anthony pointed out that the injury was said to take three months to recover from, which will likely prove to be the exact timeline.

Still, the commentary around him during his absence has been a new issue he’s had to deal with in what was previously a swift rise through Boston’s minor league system.

“I stay off all of that,” Anthony said of the outside noise. “I know who I am. I know that when I show up to the field every day, I show up ready to play and I prepare my [expletive] off in every way. When I see certain things that certain people write about me, it’s definitely frustrating and definitely a little disappointing. But like I said earlier, everyone has an opinion. Everyone has the ability to log on to anything and say anything about me, whether it’s true or not.”

Asked about the speculation that he was distracted from his injury rehab earlier in the summer, Anthony dismissed it outright.

“I won’t really talk on that because it’s not even something that’s relevant and it hasn’t been relevant in our clubhouse,” he replied. “It’s never been a problem and it’s never really even been a thing. I prioritize getting to bed and doing everything I can to show up and give it all to my teammates and to the fans. I think when things aren’t going your way and you’re a 22-year-old kid that does anything other than just goes home and goes straight to bed, people have something to say.”

Though he empathized with fans’ frustrations, Anthony said he was completely focused on making his return to the diamond.

“This entire process was just about recovering and doing everything I could to get back as soon as I could, just blocking out other things.”

Of course, Anthony seems to be building back into form at the right time. He’s hit multiple home runs in his minor league rehab stint so far, and could soon inject the kind of power into the Boston lineup that had preseason experts predicting a Red Sox postseason run.

Scores and schedules:

The Red Sox defeated the Marlins 7-3 on Tuesday. The two teams play again in Florida this evening at 6:40 p.m.

On Thursday, the Patriots face the Browns in Cleveland in the preseason finale at 8 p.m.

More from Boston.com:

Jarren Duran’s big hit in the 11th: The Boston outfielder fought through what had been an 0-for-4 stretch to that point in the game, coming through in extra innings with a grand slam.

On this day: In 1972, the Red Sox scored five runs in the bottom of the ninth to make an improbable comeback against the Rangers in a 7-6 win.

Daily highlight: Mike Yastrzemski, grandson of Red Sox legend Carl Yastrzemski, made an excellent diving catch in the Braves’ 4-3 win over the Dodgers on Tuesday.