Red Sox reportedly agree to extension with top prospect
The Boston Red Sox will be retaining another potential core player for the foreseeable future. According to Chris Cotillo of MassLive, the Red Sox have reached an agreement on a contract extension with Ceddanne Rafaela.
Cotillo did not have the immediate details of the contract, but did mention it is expected to be official in the coming days. He did add that Rafaela “was not set to be eligible for free agency until after the 2029 season,” adding that “most likely, Rafaela’s deal gives the Red Sox control over him past that point in time, likely extending through 2030 or 2031.”
UPDATE: According to Cotillo, it’s an eight-year deal for Rafaela worth $50 million.
READ MORE:
—Milliken: 5 thoughts on where the Red Sox go without Trevor Story
—Mazz: The Red Sox new pitching philosophy failed Brayan Bello
—Full Red Sox coverage
Rafaela, 23, is ranked as the fourth-best prospect in the Red Sox’s system by SoxProspects.com, and is the top-ranked prospect currently on the 40-man roster. He made his major league debut last year, appearing in 28 games. After making the club out of spring training this year, he’s appeared in 10 games so far and is hitting .233.
Since his call-up last year Rafaela has mostly played in the outfield. However he does have experience at shortstop and could be called on to help fill out the lineup there in the immediate future in the wake of Trevor Story’s shoulder injury. Asked about that situation on Monday, chief baseball officer Craig Breslow said “I don’t think it makes sense to commit to anything yet.”
The Red Sox are off on Monday. Fans will have to wait until Tuesday – and the home opener against the Baltimore Orioles – to see where Rafaela slots in the lineup.
With this deal, Rafaela is the third Red Sox player to get a pre-arbitration extension since Breslow’s first year on the job. Starting pitchers Garrett Whitlock and Brayan Bello both got new contracts ahead of the start of the regular season.
Read more…
Mazz: Be happy, but the Red Sox still have their share of flaws
The defense is still shaky
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON – MARCH 28: Enmanuel Valdez #47 of the Boston Red Sox throws to first base for a double play against Jorge Polanco #7 of the Seattle Mariners during the first inning of Opening Day game at T-Mobile Park on March 28, 2024 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Alika Jenner/Getty Images)
Lament all you want about the simplistic nature of traditional metrics, but errors are still errors. The Red Sox have eight of them, which is tied for the fourth-most in baseball. More importantly, they have come at costly times. Wilyer Abreu had a sloppy outfield misplay in Seattle that was a key element in one of the Sox’ three losses. Ditto for Rafael Devers’ misplay with two outs in the sixth innings of the Sox’ eventual 2-1 loss on Saturday night. (The Sox led 1-0 at the time.) While the Sox have allowed a major league low 24 runs thus far, a whopping nine of them (37.5 percent) have been unearned. (Ceddanne Rafaela, of all people, dropped a routine fly on Friday that helped lead to four of them.) Yes, the Sox are better afield. But if the A’s and Angels were good teams, the Sox might have two more losses at least.
The Sox are whiffing like crazy
OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 03: Masataka Yoshida #7 of the Boston Red Sox walks back to the dugout after striking out against the Oakland Athletics in the ninth inning at Oakland Coliseum on April 3, 2024 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
If you’ve watched any Sox game this season, you’re likely to have seen a lot of strikeouts. From the pitching perspective, this has been a pleasant surprising. From the hitting perspective, it’s starting to get worrisome. Red Sox batters right now have the third-most strikeouts in baseball, which obviously flies in the face of Alex Cora’s mantra to put the ball in play. Triston Casas leads the Sox with 12 strikeouts, but there are low-contact hitters splattered throughout the Sox lineup. (Jarren Duran is batting .349 but has 11 strikeouts.) With a man on third and less than two outs – when contact is critical – the Sox are 2-for-20 with eight strikeouts. That won’t hurt too much against teams like the A’s and Angels. It will when the opponents are better.
