The Red Sox made a big investment Ceddanne Rafaela last season, extending the youngster to an eight-year, $50MM contract in April. At the time, he only had 38 MLB games under his belt. It wasn’t the most successful 38 games, either. Rafaela had a .672 OPS and a 76 wRC+ with a terrible 6:37 walk-to-strikeout average. Despite his blistering speed, he had only four stolen bases to that point, and he had already been caught stealing twice. However, his superior defensive skills should help the Red Sox look forward to their struggles on the other side of the ball.
Rafaela had long been praised for his outside defense as a prospect, and he lived up to the hype of the big title. By the end of the 2024 season, he had compiled Defensive Runs Saved and a +7 Fielding Run Value in 748.0 career innings as a center fielder. On the other hand, we should be careful when looking at defensive metrics in such a small sample size. On the other hand, if Rafaela can maintain those numbers for a full career season, he could be one of the best players in the sport.
As if his performance in center field wasn’t good enough, Rafaela has appeared in 87 games at shortstop, 14 games at second base, and 4 games at third base in his short MLB tenure. He had a lot of infield experience in the minors. In fact, he started his pro career as a full-time player in 2018 and did not play an outfield position until 2021. However, he took center stage so naturally that it soon became his main position. By the time he made his MLB debut, it seemed safe to say he was a full-time player.
But not immediately. As Trevor’s story spent significant time in the IL in 2023 and ’24, the Red Sox needed help in the infield. Rafaela started five games at shortstop during his big league debut in 2023. The following year, the Red Sox temporarily named him their first shortstop when Story went down with a shoulder injury in early April. He ended up playing shortstop more than any position and shortstop more than anyone else on Boston’s roster.
Rafaela’s versatility proved to be a huge asset to the Red Sox in 2024. Unfortunately, it quickly became clear that he wasn’t just a backup plan in short. His defense at the position was terrible by every available metric. Over 692.0 career innings at shortstop since 2023-24, Rafaela has committed six fielding errors and four throwing errors. He has -3 Defensive Runs Saved and -8 Fielding Run Value. Again, it’s important to take defense metrics with a small sample size with a grain of salt. Still, it’s impossible not to notice the world of difference between Rafaela’s performance in center field and shortstop.
With that in mind, there was no controversy during the time of Baseball’s Chief Executive Officer Craig Breslow told reporters (including MassLive’s Sean McAdam) that the Red Sox plan to keep Rafaela in center field “as much as possible.” With Rafaela in full center, the Red Sox could make the 2024 Glove Finals Jarren Duran in left field and the 2024 Gold Glove winner Wilyer Abreu on the right, giving them, perhaps, the best defensive position in sports. However, McAdam raises the question of what Boston will do if they get the star Roman Anthony good for the majors. That shouldn’t take long, considering Anthony posted a .982 OPS and 162 wRC+ in 35 games at Triple-A last season. Neither Anthony nor Duran is as talented as Rafaela in midfield, but both can play the role. Furthermore, Rafaela has shown very little promise at the plate. Duran has an .832 OPS and 126 wRC+ over the past two seasons, while Anthony has spent the past two years tearing up the minor leagues. Similarly, Abreu has a .794 OPS and 117 wRC+ over 160 MLB games. As strong as Rafaela’s defense may be, his .664 OPS and 79 wRC+ in 180 career games pales in comparison to those numbers.
Although there may be a log in the field, Breslow made it clear that the Red Sox do not want Rafaela to play the infield (via McAdam). It’s not exactly a shocking revelation. After all, Rafael Devers has third base to lock down, and Story should be a full-time shortstop as long as he’s healthy. Boston doesn’t have a guaranteed starter at second base, though David Hamilton he was a strong attacker and a better defender than Rafaela in 2024. Vaughn Grissom he hasn’t shown that he’s ready to play regularly, but he’s still young, and it’s possible the Red Sox would like to give him a chance to prove himself after an injury-plagued 2024 campaign.
Ultimately, though, this isn’t really about the other options in the infield. Simply put, the Red Sox want Rafaela to focus on the situation where it matters most. Indeed, Breslow thinks that moving between the infield and the outfield may interfere with his performance in both positions: “I’m not sure we saw the best of him even defensively because he was switching back and forth between center and shortstop. .”
It’s hard to argue with Breslow’s logic. At the same time, it’s worth wondering what the Red Sox plan to do with Rafaela if Anthony wants a promotion. Likewise, it’s worth wondering what this means for Boston’s pursuit of the right-handed bat. Could a slightly crowded outfield picture prevent Breslow from adding the right bat his roster desperately needs?
The simple answer is that Rafaela can take the fourth outfielder spot if/when he finds himself out of the starting lineup. He could also be on the short side of the platoon with Abreu, who struggles against southpaws. Furthermore, it’s not like Breslow has completely closed the door on Rafaela returning to the arena. Maybe if Story gets hurt again, Rafaela will return to dust after all. A role like that might not be what the Red Sox envisioned when they signed him to a $50MM contract, but it’s not like his $1.25MM salary for the 2025 season is overpaying for a Glove-caliber bench player. Maybe Boston will eventually try to trade for an outfielder, but there’s no reason to think they’re in a rush to get Rafaela — or Duran, Abreu, or Anthony — off their hands. Besides, Anthony isn’t even on the 40-man roster yet, and there’s a lot that could affect Rafaela’s potential role between now and Opening Day.
Image courtesy of Imagn.
Source link
