3 weeks agoBoston Red Sox outfielder
Ceddanne Rafaela (hamstring) is in Saturday's lineup. He will cover center field and bat in the cleanup. Rafaela has dealt with hamstring tightness throughout the week but has been cleared for action. Seeing him return to the lineup suggests he will not face any restrictions by Opening Day. Last season, the 24-year-old appeared in a career-high 152 contests and held a .246/.274/.390 slash line. He tallied 23 doubles, five triples and 15 home runs. He swiped 19 bags but was caught stealing 10 times. However, he generated a weak .229 xBA with a low 36.3 percent hard-hit rate. He held a high 26.4 percent strikeout rate with a low 2.6 percent walk rate. When healthy, fantasy managers should expect Rafaela to see most of his time in center field with occasional starts at second base and shortstop.
--Andy Smith - RotoBallerSource: Mac Cerullo
3 weeks agoBoston Red Sox manager Alex Cora said that outfielder
Ceddanne Rafaela (hamstring) is doing better and will do some running in camp on Thursday. If that goes well, Rafaela will be cleared to return to Grapefruit League action this weekend. Rafaela has been held out of spring training games this week after experiencing hamstring tightness in a game last Sunday. However, he appears to be making good progress and should be just fine for Opening Day in late March, barring a setback once he returns to games. Out of necessity, the 24-year-old was forced to play a lot of middle infield for the BoSox in his rookie season in 2024, but Boston plans on using him as their primary center fielder this year. While Rafaela's glove is way ahead of his bat, hopefully sticking in center will allow him to focus on his offensive game much more in his sophomore season. He's ranked as RotoBaller's No. 53 fantasy outfielder.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: WEEI - Rob Bradford
1 month agoThe Athletic's Jen McCaffrey writes that Boston Red Sox outfielder
Ceddanne Rafaela will continue using an altered batting stance in 2025 in which he lowers his hands so that he's connected with his front leg with a small leg kick to help his timing at the plate. A new strength routine in the offseason also helped Rafaela add muscle to his 5-foot-9 frame. Most importantly, the Red Sox plan to keep the 24-year-old in center field as much as possible in 2025 after he made 72 starts in center, 71 starts at shortstop and four starts at second base in 2024. He had stretches of good offensive production in his rookie season, but Rafaela had a 46.6% chase rate, which was among the worst 1% in MLB. His 2.6% walk rate was also among the lowest 1% in the league. Rafaela is going to need to improve his plate discipline and make better contact to take the next step as a hitter.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: The Athletic - Jen McCaffrey
3 months agoBoston Red Sox chief baseball officer
Craig Breslow said that the plan is to keep infielder/outfielder
Ceddanne Rafaela in center field in 2025 "as much as possible." Rafaela really stepped up for the Red Sox in 2024 and provided plenty of defensive versatility, mainly in center field and shortstop. The 24-year-old started 72 games in center field, 71 at shortstop and four at second base in his first full season in the big leagues. His elite athleticism allows him to play pretty much anywhere on the diamond, but the BoSox would like to keep him focused on center field this year to hopefully make him more productive offensively. There was a need for Rafaela at the 6 in 2024 when
Trevor Story was injured earlier in the year. Rafaela must improve his hard-hit metrics and plate discipline to take the next step as a hitter, but his elite athleticism should give hope to fantasy managers.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: MassLive.com - Sean McAdam
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