Centerfielder Ceddanne Rafaela has been phenomenal with the glove and the bat for the Boston Red Sox this season. So, it caught a lot of people off guard when he was out of the lineup on Monday night. Now, Alex Speier reports that this was due to an injury issue.
Rafaela is dealing with a hamstring. Interim manager Chad Tracy would characterize it as routine soreness. Still, they wanted to get him a day off.
“Ceddanne Rafaela is out of the starting lineup today due to what Chad Tracy characterized as mild, relatively routine hamstring soreness after running all over the place in Atlanta,” Spier wrote. “He could be available later in tonight’s game.”
Luckily, Rafaela would be able to enter the game on Monday in the 9th inning on defense. Based on that and what Tracy shared, it sounds like a minor concern. Certainly, with injuries now stacking up in the lineup, the Red Sox can’t afford to lose Rafaela too.
As it stands, starting left fielder Roman Anthony is out with a wrist injury. Then, veteran shortstop Trevor Story recently went down with a sports hernia that he’s considering surgery on. Then, Boston’s top two catchers are dealing with issues. Both Carlos Narvaez and Connor Wong left games in the last week with minor injuries, though Wong was able to start the game on Monday night.
For the Red Sox, it’s been a very slow start to the season, but Rafaela has been a bright spot in that time. In 44 games, he’s hitting .284 with 4 home runs and 19 RBIs. His OBP is .354, his slugging percentage is .432, and his OPS is .786 for the season. At the same time, he’s one of the best defensive centerfielders in the game.
Boston Red Sox Put Masataka Yoshida in the Lineup to Replace Ceddanne Rafaela
GettyMasataka Yoshida and Ceddanne Rafaela of the Boston Red Sox
The injuries forced the Boston Red Sox to put Masataka Yoshida in the game on Monday, playing left field. That’s something the team has seemingly tried to avoid doing since Craig Breslow took over as the team’s CBO. Even as a DH, however, his opportunities have been limited lately.
That’s a bit of a surprise given that the Red Sox initially invested a $90 million in Yoshida. Still, he’s had just three starts since Chad Tracy took over as the team’s manager.
Clearly, there’s a disconnect in terms of what Yoshida brings to the table and what the team’s management is looking for. That’s even with Yoshida taking advantage of his opportunities. On Monday, that saw him hit a triple. That comes in a season where he entered play hitting .260 with a .370 OBP.
That begs the question, what’s the long-term plan for Yoshida? The Red Sox have too many starting-caliber outfielders. It’s been an issue for some time now, and it certainly seems like Yoshida is the odd man out.
Roman Anthony Suffers a Setback
GettyBoston Red Sox OF Roman Anthony speaks to a trainer
The Red Sox are hoping to get star left fielder Roman Anthony back soon. However, he suffered a recent setback.
Christopher Smith reported that Anthony took some swings as he looks to get back from his wrist injury. However, while swinging, he felt soreness. The Red Sox shut the rehab session down. Chad Tracy would then go on to address the setback.
“He swung a little bit and felt some soreness,” Tracy said. “For the time being, we’re going to back off until we get through the off day. Obviously, you don’t want him swinging through soreness and discomfort. It’s not great news today, but we’ll back off and see how he responds after the off day with a few more days of rest.”
At one point, Anthony was the top prospect in all of baseball. Now, the Red Sox need him healthy and playing up to his potential, as the offense has been sputtering. However, making his injury worse or trying to play through pain probably won’t help in the long run.
Red Sox Manager Chad Tracy Revealed Injury Concern for CF Ceddanne Rafaela