The Red Sox have a fairly important roster decision to make during spring training, as they need to decide whether Ceddanne Rafaela will start the season in Boston or Worcester.
It won’t just have an impact on Rafaela himself, however.
Rafaela concluded last season with a month-long stint in Boston, parlaying a tremendous minor league campaign into middling results with the big club. The Red Sox are aware of his potential value, however, and plan on giving him every opportunity to earn a spot on the Opening Day roster.
“We’re going to give him all the chances to get repetitions in center field,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said Saturday, per Ian Browne of MLB.com. “He needs them, too, at this level. Just play him out there as much as possible, with his gray pants most of the time. Should be fun playing him.”
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Rafaela will essentially serve as the top center fielder this spring, especially in road games. It’s a way for the Red Sox to maximize his reps, giving him the biggest sample size possible before they make their final decision.
Oh yeah, about the importance of their ultimate choice.
Cora has maintained that other position-player roster decisions will hinge on if the 23-year-old can win the job. If he does, Jarren Duran and Tyler O’Neil could settle into the corner spots with Masataka Yoshida serving as the primary designated hitter. If he doesn’t, Yoshida might have to return to the outfield. Wilyer Abreu has plenty of fans in Boston, as well, so where do he and Rob Refsnyder fit into all of this?
It remains to be seen, but we’ll have a better idea once Rafaela’s starting spot is revealed.
