Ceddanne

Rafaela

The Netherlands won both of their exhibitions against MLB teams, with Rafaela acting as a driving force; he has two homers and two doubles the last two days. The team’s other standout today was Didi Gregorius, who went 3-for-3 with a double and two RBI.

All four of Rafaela’s balls in play today were hit at least 98 mph, and he reached on an error in his first at-bat. Rafaela was also off to a fast start in Red Sox camp, having gone 5-for-13 with two homers and two doubles before leaving the team. Hopefully, he’s in line for another little step forward offensively in his age-25 season.

It’s an extremely encouraging development after Anthony and Rafaela were involved in a scary on-field collision during Friday’s spring contest against Atlanta. Both players remained in the contest following the incident and appear to have avoided serious injury. The 21-year-old top-of-the-order catalyst is expected to play a prominent role for Team USA in the upcoming World Baseball Classic.

Anthony and Rafaela slammed their hips into one another in left field and were both down on the ground for an extended period of time. However, they were not only able to stay in the game, but Anthony later singled and was driven in on a two-run home run by Rafaela. It seems the Red Sox avoided a potential disaster here.

Once again, Roman Anthony is in the leadoff spot, he’s just serving as the designated hitter while Jarren Duran patrols the outfield. The only difference between Sunday’s lineup and what the team had been expected to use on Opening Day is Isiah Kiner-Falefa is in there at second base while Marcelo Mayer is riding the pine. He really will need to earn his spot this spring. Here’s the full lineup for Sunday: Roman Anthony (DH), Trevor Story (SS), Jarren Duran (LF), Willson Contreras (1B), Wilyer Abreu (RF), Caleb Durbin (3B), Ceddanne Rafaela (CF), Carlos Narvaez (C), Isiah Kiner-Falefa (2B).

Anthony will get a few exhibition games under his belt with the Red Sox before joining Team USA for next month’s World Baseball Classic. The 21-year-old on-base machine’s perch atop Boston’s formidable lineup, which features offseason acquisition Willson Contreras in the heart of the order, makes it easy to project him as an impact fantasy contributor in the runs scored department. His ability to generate consistent hard contact, as evidenced by a 94.5 mph average exit velocity — the highest single-season mark by a hitter under the age of 22 in the Statcast era — portend immediate success at the highest level as a power-hitting table-setter. He’ll be an early-round pick in all fantasy drafts this spring. Here’s the full lineup: Anthony (RF), Ceddanne Rafaela (CF), Wilyer Abreu (DH), Contreras (1B), Masataka Yoshida (LF), Connor Wong (C), Andruw Monasterio (3B), Isiah Kiner-Falefa (SS) and Brendan Rodgers (2B).

Cora’s remark came in response to a question at Fenway Fest about whether the club would consider moving Rafaela to the keystone to alleviate its outfield logjam. The 25-year-old’s offensive production cratered in the second half of last season after a stellar opening act that featured 14 homers and 13 steals in 88 games. The constant shuffling between second base and center field may have contributed to the slide considering the Red Sox are going out of their way to dismiss the possibility of him playing second base, prioritizing Rafaela’s elite defense in center field after he earned the AL Gold Glove at the spot. From a fantasy standpoint, the added stability represents a positive development for Rafaela as he’ll have fewer variables to worry about heading into next season. However, losing second-base eligibility down the road would be a tough break for fantasy managers.

Those two are joined by Steven Kwan in the outfield. Other AL winners include pitcher Max Fried, catcher Dillon Dingler, first baseman Ty France, second baseman Marcus Semien, third baseman Maikel Garcia, shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. and utilityman Mauricio Dubón. Semien getting the nod over Andrés Giménez seems like the biggest upset, though Giménez, who won the previous three years, did miss a bunch of time. Dingler over Alejandro Kirk also rates as a modest surprise.

With the victory, Boston clinches a playoff berth for the first time since 2021. Facing an early 3-0 deficit, the Red Sox chipped away with single runs in the fourth, seventh and eighth innings to draw even. Romy Gonzalez smacked a one-out single off of Tigers reliever Tommy Kahnle in the ninth inning and Rafaela followed by swatting an RBI triple off the wall in left-center, sending the Fenway faithful into an absolute frenzy. The 25-year-old outfielder finished the night 2-for-4 and is now hitting .247/.292/.412 with 16 homers, 63 RBI and 19 stolen bases on the season.

The Red Sox blew a 5-1 lead in the sixth tonight, falling behind 7-5, but they scored all of the remaining runs from there, getting the last four with two outs in the eighth. Rafaela, who started in center, made a brief appearance at second base and later returned to center tonight, drove in four runs for the second time this season. The other occasion was a five-RBI game against the Guardians back in April.