Surely, this was bad news.
When Craig Breslow’s name illuminated the cellphone screen of Mark Rodgers on Sunday afternoon, the agent for Roman Anthony immediately imagined an array of misfortunes that could have befallen his client.
After all, when Anthony and the Sox tabled conversations about a long-term deal at the end of spring training, Anthony’s team at Frontline Athlete Management had suggested they didn’t want to renew conversations until after the season.
So it caught Rodgers off guard when Breslow informed the agent that he’d just sent a new contract proposal to both Rodgers and Anthony. Had Breslow only sent it to Rodgers, the agent might have stiff-armed the request.
But Anthony — who’d been alerted Sunday morning by Sox principal owner (and Globe owner) John Henry that the team was preparing to make him another offer — had opened the email, and greeted it with immediate enthusiasm, which he relayed to Rodgers.
Read more from Alex Speier at Globe.com/Sports | 
