Red Sox Smartly Avoiding Last Year's Mistake With Ceddanne Rafaela
· Yahoo Sports
Ceddanne Rafaela is such a good defender that he can also play a solid second base and a passable shortstop at the major league level, despite providing his most value as an all-world center fielder.
That trait is both a blessing and a curse, because the Red Sox have used him on the infield in each of his first two major league seasons when it felt like they had no other choice. They seem dead set on avoiding it again this season, because as soon as he started seeing some time at second base last year, his offense went into a tailspin.
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Red Sox manager Alex Cora was asked whether Rafaela seeing some time at second base this season might be in the cards on Wednesday, and he gave what should widely be seen as the right answer.
"Not right now," Cora simply said, per Tim Healey of The Boston Globe.
Rafaela tore the cover off the ball in late June and early July last season, but after the All-Star break, the Red Sox felt as though they needed him at second base when Marcelo Mayer got hurt. He proceeded to bat .132 with an abysmal .309 OPS in the 23 games/79 plate appearances he had as a second baseman.
In other words, it's best for the Red Sox to keep him in center field, even with the outfield surplus we know exists. Plus, Roman Anthony's current back injury should serve as a reminder that a surplus only exists when everyone is healthy, and we can't yet be certain that the young star will avoid a stint on the injured list in the coming weeks.
Granted, the surplus has felt unsustainable to this point in the season, with guys like Jarren Duran and Masataka Yoshida spending far too much time on the bench for above-average major league hitters. But Rafaela has to be left to provide his premium defensive value to the greatest extent possible.
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