Rafaela will get his chance
Rookie trying to grab outfield job
SARASOTA, Fla. — It was almost a given that Ceddanne Rafaela would make a play on this ball.
His grace going back on Adley Rutschman’s deep fly to center field came with such confidence. The pacing, the flow, timing, and route as Rafaela made his way to the wall exemplified an elite center fielder, gearing up to rob a home run, keeping the game scoreless with Red Sox starter Garrett Whitlock on the mound.
Yet when Rafaela leaped at the 400-foot mark during the bottom of the first inning on Saturday, and then slammed his glove in frustration as Rutschman rounded the bases with a solo homer in the Orioles’ 4-3 win in the Grapefruit League opener, it prompted reconsideration of the play’s difficulty. Perhaps it was, indeed, too arduous. The wind at Ed Smith Stadium certainly made its presence known, blowing toward the back fields.
Yet Rafaela reassured those that listened of his defensive prowess.
“That’s a ball I catch 99 out of 100 times,” said Rafaela.
The Red Sox have a grasp on what their infield will look like come Opening Day March 28 in Seattle.
Yet when it comes to their outfield, even with Jarren Duran coming off of a solid year, the addition of Tyler O’Neill, and the hype surrounding Wilyer Abreu, manager Alex Cora has been slow to reveal his outfield configuration.
That’s because it hinges on Rafaela. Is he ready for the big leagues? Or does he need more time at Triple A Worcester. The Sox want to see what he can do.
“We’re going to give him all the chances to get repetitions, and he needs them, too, at this level,” said Cora. “We’re going to play him out there as much as possible with his gray pants.”
While Duran and O’Neill might get a lot of reps in their home white pants, Rafaela will wear the road gray pants, ensuring he gets a legitimate look.
“It’s something that has crossed my mind. It makes me work harder, not wanting to go back to Worcester,” said Rafaela. “But at the end of the day, it’s not my decision. I can just do my best.”
Rafaela’s approach at the plate will determine his fate.
He can lean outside the zone, and had a tough challenge against Corbin Burnes Saturday, striking out to lead off the game.
“He needs to swing at the right ones,” said Cora. “It takes time. The more at-bats, the better it is for him.”
Rafaela finished 0 for 3, but put some good swings on pitches in his final two at-bats, although they ended in ground outs.
Rafaela put on needed weight and muscle during the offseason and the Red Sox gave him the green light to eat as much as possible.
“Hopefully that program is going to benefit him as a hitter,” Cora said. “But at the end we have to swing at the right ones.”
Looking for lefties
The Red Sox are in need of lefthanders with velocity. Jorge Benitez put together a promising outing, going one inning and registering two strikeouts. “He was a little nervous early on,” said Cora. “But the slider plays. The two-seamer in to lefties. Velocity was there. It was a step in the right direction.” . . . In Fort Myers, Tanner Houck and Nick Pivetta threw in the bullpen, as did newly signed lefthanded reliever Joely Rodriguez. Chief baseball officer Craig Breslow
joined a large group of coaches and team officials watching Rodriguez . . . Catcher Connor Wong, who is being held out of games with a sore right elbow, said he’d be playing were it the regular season. “I’m fine. We’re just being careful,” Wong said
. . . The Sox were among the many teams who had scouts at JetBlue Park to watch the Minnesota-Northeastern game. The Golden Gophers’ lineup included second baseman Brady Counsell, the son of Cubs manager
Craig Counsell.