The Red Sox are set to get a major piece back on Wednesday, with center fielder Ceddanne Rafaela expected to come off the Injured List after missing time with a right quadriceps strain.
Rafaela hasn’t played since Sep. 2, but Boston manager Chad Tracy said after Tuesday’s loss to the Cleveland Guardians that the club expects to activate him on Wednesday. Tracy also said Willson Contreras has been taking batting practice and remains day to day, according to The Athletic’s Jen McCaffrey on X.
Before the injury, Rafaela was in the middle of the best stretch of his career. He was hitting .282/.317/.443 with a .760 OPS, along with 16 homers, 70 RBIs, 17 stolen bases, 32 doubles and three triples across 135 games. His defense in center field has also been at Gold Glove level, making the timing of his return especially important for a team trying to steady itself before the postseason.
The numbers back up just how valuable he’s been. Rafaela has 5.4 wins above replacement this season, a career high, which ranks second on the Red Sox and ties him for 22nd in baseball overall. If he hadn’t missed nearly a month, that total would likely look even better.
His return also clears up some of Boston’s outfield picture. Rafaela can slide right back into center field, where the Red Sox have used Jarren Duran and Nate Eaton in his absence. That leaves the club to sort out the rest of the alignment, with Duran potentially in left field and Roman Anthony at designated hitter, or Anthony in left field and another decision at DH.
The outfield mix was a concern earlier in the season, but it looks different now. If Boston keeps Anthony in left, Duran may not be the obvious choice at DH, especially with five games left and his batting line sitting at .204 despite solid pop.
Another option would be to use someone like Mickey Gasper there. Gasper is hitting .259 and hit his 10th homer of the season on Tuesday.
However Boston lines it up, Rafaela’s return should give the lineup a lift at a time when the offense has cooled off. He helps on both sides of the ball, and getting him back could also push a struggling bat out of the everyday mix.
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