Red Sox's Ceddanne Rafaela: In line for significant role
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Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow indicated Wednesday that he expects Rafaela to play a significant role with the major-league club in 2024, Mac Cerullo of the Boston Herald reports.
Breslow made the statement after being asked about the team's outfield situation following the trade of Alex Verdugo. At this juncture, Breslow has no plans to add additional outfielders, which points to Rafaela and Wilyer Abreu playing quite a bit. Rafaela slashed .241/.281/.386 with two home runs and three stolen bases over 89 plate appearances during his cup of coffee with Boston in 2023.
Rafaela is not in Sunday's lineup against the Orioles.
The young defensive wizard wasn't in Saturday's lineup but still entered the game early enough to get two at-bats, going 0-for-2 with a strikeout. Rafaela is very aggressive at the plate, but if he can do enough offensively to stick in the majors for most or all of next season, he has the tools to provide double-digit homers and steals while moving between center field and shortstop.
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Red Sox's Ceddanne Rafaela: Sitting Saturday
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Rafaela will be on the bench for Saturday's game against Baltimore, Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic reports.
Rafaela has gotten his chance to impress down the stretch, appearing in 26 games since his call-up in late August. The results haven't been great, particularly in the plate discipline department, as he's struck out 30.6 percent of the time to go with a 4.7 percent walk rate. He's hit .253/.294/.405 (good for an 83 wRC+) with a pair of homers and a pair of steals. Adam Duvall will be Saturday's center fielder.
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Red Sox's Ceddanne Rafaela: Not in Tuesday's lineup
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Rafaela is out of the lineup for Tuesday's game versus the Rays, Chris Cotillo of The Springfield Republican reports.
Rafaela has been a regular in Boston's lineup over the past couple weeks and has taken advantage of the playing time with an .800 OPS through 23 games, but he'll open Tuesday's contest on the bench. Enmanuel Valdez is manning the keystone and batting eighth.
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Red Sox's Ceddanne Rafaela: Makes first start at 2B
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Rafaela started at second base and went 1-for-2 with an RBI and a run scored in Friday's 3-2 win over the White Sox.
Rafaela has appeared at second base three times this season but Friday was the first start. The position, which has been a revolving door in 2023, is expected to be an open competition in 2024. Red Sox manager Alex Cora told Sean McAdam of MassLive.com that the rookie could make a few more starts there in the final week. The manager also said the team is considering having Rafaela play second base during winter ball.
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Red Sox's Ceddanne Rafaela: Slots in at shortstop
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Rafaela started at shortstop and went 2-for-5 with an RBI in Wednesday's 15-5 loss to the Rangers.
Rafaela made his fifth start at shortstop since being called up from Triple-A Worcester in late August. During stints in Worcester and Double-A Portland, the organization had him mainly focus on outfield. He's slashing .305/.328/.492 in 61 plate appearances (20 games) since his arrival in the majors.
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Red Sox's Ceddanne Rafaela: Taking seat Friday
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Rafaela is not in the lineup for Friday's game in Toronto, Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic reports.
Rafaela had made five straight starts and is coming off a four-hit day during Thursday's doubleheader versus the Yankees. He'll begin this one on the bench though, as the Red Sox open up a weekend series north of the border.
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Red Sox's Ceddanne Rafaela: Added to lineup Friday
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Rafaela was added to the lineup for Friday's game at Toronto.
Rafaela will start in center field and bat leadoff after Triston Casas (undisclosed) was scratched. Justin Turner is covering first base and Masataka Yoshida will serve as Boston's designated hitter. This is now the sixth straight start for Rafaela, who boasts a .368/.400/.632 batting line through his first 40 major-league plate appearances.
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Red Sox's Ceddanne Rafaela: Collects four hits across twin bill
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Rafaela went 4-for-9 with a solo home run, a double and three total runs across both games of Thursday's doubleheader split with the Yankees.
Rafaela collected a pair of hits in each contest, including two extra-base knocks -- a solo homer and a double -- in the matinee. The rookie center fielder batted in the leadoff spot in both games and has now made five consecutive starts for Boston. Rafaela has fared well so far in his short time as a major-leaguer, slashing .368/.400/.632 with two homers, four doubles, three RBI, nine runs and a stolen base over 40 plate appearances. However, he's been punched out 15 times, so the sterling batting average may not be sustainable.
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Red Sox's Ceddanne Rafaela: Makes fourth straight start
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Rafaela is starting in center field and batting eighth in Wednesday's game versus the Yankees, Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic reports.
It's the fourth straight start for the exciting young rookie, with three of them coming in center field and one coming at shortstop. Rafaela's first major-league home run represented the Red Sox's lone tally in a loss to the Yankees in the second game of Tuesday's twin bill.
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Red Sox's Ceddanne Rafaela: Pops first career homer
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Rafaela went 2-for-5 with a double and a solo home run in the second game of Tuesday's doubleheader against the Yankees.
After going 0-for-3 with a walk in the matinee while playing shortstop and hitting seventh, Rafaela shifted to center field and handled leadoff duties in the nightcap against Carlos Rodon and belted the first pitch he saw from the veteran southpaw over the Green Monster for his first career homer. Through his first 13 big-league games, Rafaela is batting a sizzling .345 (10-for-29) with three doubles, a steal, two RBI and six runs as the 22-year-old stakes an early claim to an everyday spot in the lineup, or at least a super-utility role, in 2024.
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Red Sox's Ceddanne Rafaela: Limited use by design
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Red Sox manager Alex Cora said Rafaela's limited opportunities are due to the team still being in the playoff hunt, Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com reports.
Rafaela, who has significant experience at shortstop and center field, has made just two starts (both at shortstop) in 11 games since being called up to the majors. He's also appeared later in the games as a pinch runner or defensive replacement, including at second base, a position Cora feels comfortable using the prospect. The manager took a different approach last season with Triston Casas, who played often after joining the Red Sox. "Last year we were out, out," Cora said, explaining the difference between the Casas and Rafaela situations. "This year, we still are kind of like in the hunt." The Red Sox have a couple of series left against chief rivals for a wild card spot -- a road trip at Toronto and Texas beginning this coming Friday -- which could lead to more playing time for Rafaela pending the outcomes of those games.
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Red Sox's Ceddanne Rafaela: Batting leadoff
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Rafaela is starting at shortstop and batting leadoff Tuesday versus the Rays, Chris Cotillo of The Springfield Republican reports.
It's only the rookie's second start since he was promoted just over a week ago and both of them have come at shortstop. He's also appeared in five games in center field off the bench. Rafaela is 3-for-8 so far at the plate in the majors.
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Red Sox's Ceddanne Rafaela: Plays center field Friday
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Rafaela entered Friday's game as a pinch hitter and finished in center field. He went 1-for-2 in a 13-2 loss to the Royals.
Rafaela, who was called up earlier this week, will receive work at shortstop and center field. He mostly played center field at Double-A Portland and Triple-A Worcester this season. Friday's crushing loss was Boston's fifth straight, reducing its playoff chances to 3.1 percent, per Fangraphs. That suggests the Red Sox may turn to developing the youth added to the roster over chasing an unlikely playoff spot. Jarren Duran's season-ending toe injury provides a pathway to at-bats for Rafaela.
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Red Sox's Ceddanne Rafaela: Collects hit in first start
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Rafaela went 1-for-4 with a double, a run scored and an RBI in Wednesday's 7-4 loss to the Astros.
Despite spending most of the season in the minors patrolling center field, Rafaela's first big-league start came at shortstop as he gave Trevor Story a breather. The rookie delivered from the leadoff spot, with his first MLB extra-base hit banging off the Green Monster in the sixth inning to drive in his first MLB run. With Boston still on the fringes of the wild-card picture and Adam Duvall hot again at the plate, Rafaela could have a hard time finding a consistent spot in the lineup in the short term, but the 22-year-old prospect is talented enough to force the Red Sox to make room for him down the stretch.
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Red Sox's Ceddanne Rafaela: Making first start Wednesday
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Rafaela will start at shortstop and bat leadoff in his first major-league start Wednesday against the Astros, Mac Cerullo of the Boston Herald reports.
Rafaela delivered a single off the bench in his first big-league plate appearance in Tuesday's loss to Houston, and he'll now enter the lineup for the first time. The 22-year-old saw most of his action in the outfield during his time in the minors this season, but he'll be on the dirt for his first start with Boston while Trevor Story gets the day off.
