Boston Red Sox outfielder Ceddanne Rafaela is on the bench to start Saturday's contest against the visiting St. Louis Cardinals at Fenway Park. Second baseman Kristian Campbell is starting in center field and batting seventh, and David Hamilton will start at second base and bat eighth against Cardinals right-hander Andre Pallante. Rafaela has been hitting at the bottom of Boston's batting order early on in 2025 and has started out slow offensively, going 3-for-26 with three RBI, two runs scored, two walks and four strikeouts in his first eight games played. The 24-year-old was needed on the infield a lot in his rookie year in 2024 due to an injury to Trevor Story, but hopefully he can get settled in offensively eventually now that he'll be staying in center field on a full-time basis this year.
Boston Red Sox catcher Connor Wong and outfielder Ceddanne Rafaela are not in the starting nine on Saturday when they continue a four-game set against the Texas Rangers. Wong got the starting nod in each of the first two games and went 1-for-7 at the plate with a 1:1 BB:K. Rafaela started in each of the first two games as well and covered center field, and went 0-for-8 at the plate. As a result, Carlos Narvaez will get the start behind the dish and Jarren Duran will shift to center field, which opens left field for Kristian Campbell, and allows David Hamilton to enter the lineup and cover the keystone. Fantasy managers should expect both Wong and Rafaela to return to the starting nine for the final game of the series on Sunday afternoon. Narvaez and Hamilton are not worth considering in DFS facing Texas right-hander Tyler Mahle.
Boston 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.
Boston 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.
The 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.
Red Sox Want To Keep Ceddanne Rafaela In The Outfield "As Much As Possible"
Boston 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.
Boston Red Sox shortstop Ceddanne Rafaela went 2-for-4 in Friday's 11-6 win over the Rangers, including his 13th home run of the season. The hits extended his current hit streak to eight games, and he's hit safely in 12 of his last 13. During the eight-game hit streak the 23-year-old is 11-for-31 (.355) with two home runs, four RBI, six runs scored, and two stolen bases. He's been a solid multi-category contributor this season, posting a .257-13-57-54-15 line over 106 games, putting him in the top 12 at the position.
Ceddanne Rafaela Picks Up Three Hits In Win On Tuesday
Boston Red Sox shortstop Ceddanne Rafaela turned in an excellent game in a 4-3 win over the Toronto Blue Jays on Tuesday. Rafaela went 3-for-4 with a double, a steal, and an RBI to help spark Boston to the win over their division rivals. The 24-year-old infielder is putting together a productive season for the Red Sox, hitting .251 with eight homers, 36 runs, 41 RBI, and 10 steals across 255 at-bats. He has been red-hot at the plate of late, batting .615 with six runs and four RBI over his past seven games. Fantasy gamers should have Rafaela locked into their starting lineups while he's on a hot streak.
Boston Red Sox outfielder Ceddanne Rafaela contributed in a big way to the team's 14-2 pounding of the Chicago White Sox, knocking in four runs with four hits. He finished the day 4-for-6 with a run and four RBI. It is shockingly Raffaela's third game this season with four or more RBI, with an incredible 16 of his 37 RBI coming in those three games. The 23-year-old has showcased his talent throughout the season but hasn't been able to find the consistency needed to be a reliable fantasy option yet. The glimpses of hope we've seen from him make him an intriguing option though, and holding onto him in case he puts it all together isn't a bad idea in deeper leagues.
Ceddanne Rafaela Blasts Two Home Runs, Collects Five RBI Friday
Boston Red Sox outfielder Ceddanne Rafaela blasted two home runs and collected five RBI in a 7-3 win versus the Detroit Tigers on Friday night. Rafaela made friends with the Green Monster, hitting a three-run homer over it in the fourth inning, followed by a two-run homer over it in the sixth inning. It's the young rookie's first career multi-homer game. Rafaela is in the midst of a hot streak where he has three home runs and a .348 batting average in his last seven games. After batting .167 with two home runs in April, he's improved to a .239 average in May while smacking five home runs. We love to see progress from exciting rookie prospects such as Rafaela, but his numbers on the season do not warrant a roster spot quite yet until he's shown enough improvement to earn a promotion out of the No. 9 spot in the batting order.
Ceddanne Rafaela
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Red Sox
