Red Sox transfer Chris Sale to 60-day injured list in series of roster moves

The Red Sox have transferred left-hander Chris Sale from the 15-day to the 60-day injured list, the club announced as part of a flurry of roster moves ahead of Friday’s series opener against the Yankees in New York.

Sale has been diagnosed with a stress reaction in his left scapula bone (shoulder blade), according to MassLive.com’s Sean McAdam. It will not require surgery, but the 34-year-old lefty will be shut down for the next three to four weeks before being reevaluated again.

This is a disappointing development for Sale, who injured his shoulder in his most-recent start against the Reds at Fenway Park last Thursday. He was removed from the game in the fourth inning after receiving two visits from manager Alex Cora and assistant athletic trainer Masai Takahashi.

The ailment was initially described as shoulder soreness, but Sale underwent further imaging last Friday and was subsequently placed on the 15-day injured list with left shoulder inflammation.

Because of the inflammation in his shoulder, the Red Sox needed to wait until the swelling went down before determine the best course of action. It now appears as though rest and rehab are all Sale will require for now, though Friday’s move to the 60-day injured list means he will not be eligible to return to action until August 1 at the earliest.

Sale has posted a 4.58 ERA and 3.71 FIP with 71 strikeouts to 15 walks in 11 starts (59 innings) for Boston this year. He struggled early on, but found his rhythm towards the end of April and went 4-0 with a 2.23 ERA in five starts (32 1/3 innings) leading up to last Thursday’s injury-shortened outing.

In addition to transferring Sale to the 60-day injured list on Friday, the Red Sox made four other roster moves:

Outfielder Adam Duvall was reinstated from the 60-day injured list while left-handed reliever had his contract selected from Triple-A Worcester. On the flip side, Matt Dermody — who started for Boston in Cleveland on Thursday — was designated for assignment while rookie infielder Enmanuel Valdez was optioned to Worcester.

Following Friday’s series of transactions, the Red Sox now have 13 pitchers and 13 position players on their 26-man roster. Their 40-man roster is back at full capacity as well.

(Picture of Chris Sale: Winslow Townson/Getty Images)

Red Sox promote catching prospect Stephen Scott to Triple-A Worcester

The Red Sox have promoted catching prospect Stephen Scott from Double-A Portland to Triple-A Worcester, per the club’s minor-league transactions log.

Scott, 26, is currently regarded by SoxProspects.com as the No. 35 prospect in Boston’s farm system. The left-handed hitter batted .248/.369/.448 (124 wRC+) with five doubles, one triple, six home runs, 22 RBIs, 23 runs scored, four stolen bases, 24 walks, and 34 strikeouts in 37 games (149 plate appearances) with the Sea Dogs this season.

Among qualified Eastern League hitters coming into play on Friday, Scott ranks 22nd in on-base percentage, 24th in slugging percentage, 24th in OPS (.817), 20th in isolated power (.200), 23rd in wRC+, and 15th in walk rate (16.1 percent), according to FanGraphs.

Defensively, Scott logged 257 innings at catcher for Portland while splitting time behind the plate with Nathan Hickey and Elih Marrero. In those 257 innings, the 5-foot-11, 205-pound backstop allowed six passed balls and threw out 61 would-be base stealers.

A native of North Carolina, Scott was originally selected by the Red Sox in the 10th round of the 2019 amateur draft out of Vanderbilt. At the time he signed with Boston for just $50,000 that July, Scott was primarily viewed as a first baseman/corner outfielder, but he began catching full-time last year and has not really looked back since.

In Worcester, Scott will join Caleb Hamilton and Ronaldo Hernandez in helping fill the void left behind by veteran catcher Jorge Alfaro, who exercised the opt-out in his minor-league contract with Boston last week and was granted his release from the organization this past Saturday.

(Picture of Stephen Scott: Kelly O’Connor/sittingstill.smugmug.com)

Red Sox to call up left-hander Joe Jacques from Triple-A Worcester, per report

UPDATE: The Red Sox did indeed select Jacques’ from Worcester on Friday. They cleared a spot on the 26-man roster for him by optioning Enmanuel Valdez and cleared a spot on the 40-man roster by transferring Chris Sale to the 60-day injured list.

The Red Sox are promoting left-hander Joe Jacques from Triple-A Worcester, according to Joel Sherman of The New York Post.

Jacques, 28, will be active for Friday’s series opener against the Yankees at Yankee Stadium, per MassLive.com’s Christopher Smith. The Red Sox will need to create openings on both their 26- and 40-man rosters in order to accommodate the addition of Jacques.

As noted by Smith, Boston is also expected to activate outfielder Adam Duvall from the 60-day injured list on Friday, meaning the club will need to add him back to the 40-man roster as well.

To that end, the Red Sox already opened a spot on their 40-man roster by designating Matt Dermody for assignment following Thursday night’s 10-3 loss to the Guardians in Cleveland. Alex Speier of The Boston Globe recently speculated that they could create another 40-man spot by transferring pitching prospect Bryan Mata — who has been on the minor-league injured list since May 10 — to the 60-day injured list. That, of course, would start Mata’s service time clock.

Jacques, meanwhile, was originally selected by the Pirates in the 33rd round of the 2018 amateur draft out of Manhattan College. The New Jersey native spent the first five years of his professional career in the Pittsburgh organization before being plucked by the Red Sox in the minor-league phase of the Rule 5 Draft last December.

In 23 appearances (one start) for the WooSox this season, Jacques has posted a 3.58 ERA and 5.00 FIP with 24 strikeouts to nine walks across 27 2/3 innings of work. The 6-foot-4, 210-pound sidearmer relies primarily on a sinker and slider combination.

Dermody, who last pitched for Worcester on Wednesday, is in line to make his major-league debut if he gets into a game with the Red Sox this weekend. He would become the second pitcher and fourth player to accomplish that feat for Boston this season, joining fellow lefty Chris Murphy, second baseman Enmanuel Valdez, and outfielder Masataka Yoshida.

(Picture of Joe Jacques: Erica Denhoff/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Red Sox designate Matt Dermody for assignment

The Red Sox have designated left-hander Matt Dermody for assignment, manager Alex Cora told reporters (including MassLive.com’s Christopher Smith) following Thursday night’s 10-3 loss to the Guardians at Progressive Field.

The move to designate Dermody for assignment presumably clears a spot on both the 26- and 40-man roster for outfielder Adam Duvall, who is expected to be activated from the 60-day injured list on Friday after missing the last two months with a fractured left wrist.

Dermody had his contract selected from Triple-A Worcester and made the first start of his major-league career on Thursday. The 32-year-old southpaw became the ninth different pitcher to start a game for Boston this season and allowed three earned runs on four hits (two Jose Ramirez home runs), one walk, and one hit batsman to go along with one strikeout over four innings of work. He finished with 76 pitches (45 strikes) and was charged with the losing decision.

A veteran of four big-league seasons with the Blue Jays (2016-2017) and Cubs (2020, 2022), Dermody originally signed a minors pact with Boston back in January. The Iowa product posted a 4.50 ERA (4.05 FIP) with 47 strikeouts to nine walks across nine appearances (8 starts) and 44 innings for the WooSox to begin the 2023 campaign.

With Chris Sale sidelined by left shoulder inflammation, the Red Sox found themselves short a starter heading into this week’s series in Cleveland. They elected to go with Dermody, who had not pitched for Worcester since May 28, in Thursday’s finale, but that decision was met with plenty of criticism.

Well before joining the Red Sox organization, Dermody posted — and later deleted — a homophobic tweet in June 2021 that read: “PrideMonth. Homosexuals will not inherit the kingdom of God. They will go to hell. This is not my opinion, but the #Truth. Read 1 Corinthians 6:9. May we all examine our hearts, ask Jesus to forgive us and repent of all our sins. I love you all in Christ Jesus!”

According to MassLive.com’s Sean McAdam, the Red Sox confronted Dermody about the tweet after they learned of its existence during spring training. Chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom told McAdam that the club gave some thought to releasing Dermody at that time, but chose not to do so after discussing the matter with the lefty.

Now, the Red Sox will have the next seven days to either trade, release, or waive Dermody, who has the ability to reject an outright assignment to the minor-leagues in favor of free agency since he has previously been outrighted in his career.

(Picture of Matt Dermody: Ron Schwane/Getty Images)

José Ramírez tees off on Matt Dermody, Corey Kluber as Red Sox drop below .500 in 10-3 loss to Guardians

The Red Sox gave up three home runs to Jose Ramirez and lost the rubber match of their series against the Guardians on Thursday night as a result. Boston fell to Cleveland by a final score of 10-3 at Progressive Field to drop below .500 for the first time since April 28 at 31-32 on the season.

Matt Dermody was called up from Triple-A Worcester to start Thursday’s finale. The left-hander’s promotion was met with plenty of criticism after it was revealed that he posted — and later deleted — a homophobic tweet in June 2021.

Despite the blowback, the Red Sox still went with Dermody, who allowed three earned runs on four hits, one walk, and one hit batsman to go along with one strikeout over four innings of work in the first start and 31st overall appearance of his major-league career.

After hitting the first batter he faced and inducing a 4-6-3 double play, Dermody served up a 392-foot solo shot to Ramirez to put Boston an early 1-0 hole in the bottom of the first. He retired the side in order in the second, but fell victim to Ramirez again in the third inning.

With two outs and one runner on, Ramirez took Dermody 412 feet deep to left-center field for his 200th career homer. The 106.5 mph blast — Ramirez’s hardest-hit ball of the night — put Cleveland up, 3-0. Dermody then worked his way around a one-out single in an otherwise clean bottom of the fourth.

Finishing with 76 pitches (45 strikes), Dermody induced just six swings-and-misses as he was ultimately charged with the losing decision. The 32-year-old southpaw has since been designated for assignment to free up a 26-man and 40-man roster spot for outfielder Adam Duvall, who is expected to be activated from the 60-day injured list on Friday.

With Dermody’s night done, the Red Sox began to chip away at Guardians starter Aaron Civale in the top of the fifth. Reese McGuire laced a one-out double down the left field line and then came into score his side’s first run on a two-out RBI single from Jarren Duran. Duran advanced to second on the play and took third base on a wild pitch, but he was left there as Masataka Yoshida grounded out to extinguish the threat.

An inning later, though, Triston Casas cut the deficit down to one by pulling a towering, 358-foot solo home run to right field for his seventh of the season. Casas’ big fly knocked Civale out of the game and brought in James Karinchak, who immediately issued a six-pitch walk to Rob Refsnyder. Refsnyder then stole second base but was stranded there as Christian Arroyo grounded out.

Trailing 3-2 going into the latter half of the sixth, Corey Kluber was tasked with keeping the Guardians bats at bay after recording three quick outs in the fifth. The veteran righty, who won two Cy Young Awards during his time in Cleveland, instead surrendered a leadoff home run to Ramirez that traveled 390 feet into the right field seats.

Ramirez’s third homer of the night was followed by seven more consecutive hits. Josh Naylor singled, Josh Bell doubled, Andres Gimenez doubled in two runs, Myles Straw ripped an RBI triple, Will Brennan singled in a run while running into an out at second, and Cam Gallagher and Steven Kwan each singled as well.

Kluber somehow got through the rest of the sixth unscathed and put up a zero in the seventh before running into more trouble in the eighth. More specifically, he yielded another leadoff home run to Brennan to give the Guardians a commanding 9-2 lead. Kluber put two more runners on base before making way for Brennan Bernardino, who subsequently allowed one of those inherited runners to score on an unconventional inning-ending double play.

Down to their final three outs in the ninth, the Red Sox got one of those runs back off Xzavion Curry as Arroyo led off with a double and Enrique Hernandez plated him with a two-base hit of his own. Duran then struck out and Yoshida grounded out to end it.

All told, the Red Sox went 2-for-11 with runners in scoring position on Thursday and left eight runners on base as a team. They have now dropped eight of their last 11 and head into the weekend trailing the first-place Rays by 14 games in the American League East standings.

Next up: Facing the Yankees for the first time this season

The Red Sox will head to the Bronx and open a three-game weekend series against the Yankees on Friday night. To kick off the first meeting of the season between the two division rivals, Garrett Whitlock will take the mound for Boston while New York will counter with fellow right-hander Gerrit Cole.

First pitch from Yankee Stadium is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. eastern time on NESN and MLB Network.

(Picture of Jose Ramirez: Ron Schwane/Getty Images)

Red Sox officially call up Matt Dermody, option Chris Murphy to Triple-A Worcester

The Red Sox have officially selected the contract of left-hander Matt Dermody from Triple-A Worcester, the club announced prior to Thursday’s series finale against the Guardians. In a corresponding move, fellow lefty Chris Murphy was optioned to Worcester following Wednesday’s 5-2 loss at Progressive Field.

Dermody, who will wear the No. 67, will make the first start of his major-league career on Thursday night. The 32-year-old hurler originally signed a minor-league contract with Boston in January and has posted a 4.50 ERA (4.06 FIP) with 47 strikeouts to nine walks in nine appearances (eight starts) spanning 44 innings of work for the WooSox.

Prior to joining the Red Sox organization over the winter, Dermody had spent parts of four seasons in the big-leagues. The Iowa product forged a 5.33 ERA in 28 relief appearances for the Blue Jays from 2016-2017 and appeared in two games with the Cubs from 2020-2022.

Dermody’s promotion has been met with a heavy amount of criticism after it was revealed that the southpaw posted — and eventually deleted — a homophobic tweet in 2021.

On June 26, 2021, Dermody tweeted: “#PrideMonth. Homosexuals will not inherit the kingdom of God. They will go to hell. This is not my opinion, but the #Truth. Read 1 Corinthians 6:9. May we all examine our hearts, ask Jesus to forgive us and repent of all our sins. I love you all in Christ Jesus!”

As noted by MassLive.com’s Christopher Smith, manager Alex Cora was asked on Thursday if he is OK with the Red Sox giving Dermody a start given the circumstances and that it is Pride Month.

“He’s going to pitch and he’s here,” Cora said of Dermody. “Obviously as an organization, we made this decision as an organization. We’ve done a lot of stuff to educate our players on the subject. I don’t know how many organizations … do it with their employees and their players as far as like educating them about being inclusive and obviously accepting everybody in the clubhouse and your work environment.

“Obviously not too many people agree with the tweet of Matt. I’m not here to tell him what to say or what to do,” added Cora. “But one thing is for sure, when you put this uniform (on), what we want is for people to be inclusive. I think the clubhouse is a reflection of the world if you think about it. We’ve got people from different races, different beliefs, not only religious beliefs but politics. My job as a leader of the group in here is to maintain that clubhouse as close as possible respecting everybody’s thoughts. I think at the end of the day, what I want is for them to get along together and respect each other. And obviously compete for the same thing that I want to compete for, which is winning a World Series.”

Murphy, meanwhile, made his major-league debut out of the bullpen on Wednesday night. The 25-year-old pitched well, scattering two hits and one walk to go along with five strikeouts over 3 1/3 innings of relief in which he induced seven swings-and-misses.

While the Red Sox needed to option Murphy to create a spot on the 26-man roster for Dermody, they already had an opening on the 40-man roster after designating outfielder Raimel Tapia for assignment on Monday.

(Picture of Matt Dermody: Erica Denhoff/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Red Sox’ Alex Verdugo benched for lack of hustle in Wednesday’s loss to Guardians

Red Sox outfielder Alex Verdugo was removed from Wednesday’s 5-2 loss to the Guardians after not hustling out a play in the top of the seventh inning, according to The Boston Globe’s Julian McWilliams.

With two outs and Verdugo on first base after reaching on a fielder’s choice, Masataka Yoshida hit a slow tapper to the right side of the infield. First baseman Josh Naylor had to charge on the ball in order to field it, leaving him with only a force play attempt at second.

Naylor made an off-balance throw to shortstop Amed Rosario, who remained on the second-base bag long enough to record the final out of the inning. Upon further review, it appeared as though Verdugo stopped in his tracks to see where the ball was as he was going from first to second base.

Had he been running at full speed, Verdugo may have reached base safely to put runners at first and second with two outs for Justin Turner. He instead yelled in anger after the play and was removed from the contest in the bottom of the eighth. In his place, Jarren Duran slid over from center to right field, Enrique Hernandez moved from shortstop to center, Pablo Reyes shifted from second to short, and Christian Arroyo took over at second while taking Verdugo’s spot in the order.

As a result of Wednesday’s lack of effort, Verdugo is not in the starting lineup for Thursday’s series finale at Progressive Field. Rob Refsnyder will get the start in right field in his place and bat sixth as the 31-31 Red Sox look to avoid falling below .500 for the first time since April 28.

Verdugo, 27, is in the midst of his fourth season with Boston. The left-handed hitter currently leads the team in both bWAR (2.3) and fWAR (2.0) and is batting .286/.364/.450 (122 wRC+) with 19 doubles, two triples, five home runs, 24 RBIs, 42 runs scored, three stolen bases, 25 walks, and 35 strikeouts in 59 games (261 plate appearances). He has put up those numbers while providing Gold Glove-caliber defense in right field as well.

To that end, Red Sox manager Alex Cora told reporters (including MassLive.com’s Christopher Smith) that Verdugo will be back in the lineup for Friday’s series opener against the Yankees in the Bronx.

(Picture of Alex Verdugo: Frank Jansky/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Red Sox to promote Matt Dermody for Thursday start against Guardians

Left-hander Matt Dermody will get the start for the Red Sox in their series finale against the Guardians on Thursday night, according to MLB.com’s Ian Browne.

Dermody, who already has a locker in the visitors’ clubhouse at Progressive Field, originally signed a minor-league contract with the Red Sox back in January and — up until this point — has spent the entirety of the season at Triple-A Worcester.

In nine appearances (eight starts) for the WooSox, Dermody has posted a 4.50 ERA and 4.05 FIP with 47 strikeouts to nine walks over 44 innings of work. The 32-year-old last pitched on May 28, as he was scratched from his latest start and was in Boston this past weekend as an emergency option.

It remains to be seen if Dermody will only be making a spot start on Thursday or will be staying in the starting rotation moving forward. The Red Sox, of course, have been down a starter after losing fellow southpaw Chris Sale to left shoulder inflammation last week.

Regardless, Thursday’s outing will mark the first start of Dermody’s major-league career. The Iowa product first broke in with the Blue Jays in 2016 and spent two years with Toronto, compiling a 5.33 ERA in 28 total relief appearances (25 1/3 innings).

After being released by the Jays in 2019, Dermody latched on with the Cubs. He appeared in one game for Chicago during the COVID-shortened 2020 campaign and another last August. All told, he owns a lifetime 5.60 ERA with 22 strikeouts to seven walks across 27 1/3 innings of relief at the big-league level. Dermody has also pitched for the Saitama Seibu Lions of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball and the NC Dinos of the Korea Baseball Organization.

Standing at 6-foot-5 and 211 pounds, Dermody operates with a five-pitch mix that consists of a mid-80s slider, a low-90s four-seam fastball, a low-80s changeup, a low-90s sinker, and a mid-70s curveball. He is in line to become the ninth different pitcher to start a game for the Red Sox this season.

Dermody will need to be added to the 40-man roster before officially being called up. To that end, Boston has a vacancy there after designating outfielder Raimel Tapia for assignment on Monday. In order to make room for Dermody on the 26-man roster, lefty Chris Murphy is expected to be optioned back to Worcester after impressing out of the bullpen while making his major-league debut on Wednesday.

(Picture of Matt Dermody: Erica Denhoff/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Red Sox commit three errors, struggle at the plate in sloppy 5-2 loss to Guardians; Chris Murphy strikes out 5 in major-league debut

The Red Sox were held to just five hits in a series-evening loss to the Guardians on Wednesday night. In the process of committing three more errors, Boston fell to Cleveland by a final score of 5-2 at Progressive Field to drop back to .500 at 31-31 on the season.

With rookie right-hander Tanner Bibee starting for the Guardians, the Sox jumped out to an early lead in their half of the first inning. Alex Verdugo drew a leadoff walk and moved up to second base on a Masataka Yoshida single. After Justin Turner popped out, Rafael Devers opened the scoring by plating Verdugo from second on a softly-hit bloop single to left field.

Verdugo, to his credit, made an excellent read on the ball and was able to score with ease. Unfortunately, Boston’s 1-0 lead did not last too long as Cleveland responded in the latter half of the second.

Kutter Crawford, in the midst of his fourth start of the season for the Sox and working on short rest, ran into some trouble after giving up a leadoff double to Josh Naylor. Josh Bell followed by driving in Naylor on an RBI single down the right field line to knot things back up at one run apiece.

After trading zeroes in the third, the fourth inning proved to be sloppy for both sides defensively. In the top half, Hernandez led off with a single and moved up to second on a throwing error committed by Andres Gimenez. Hernandez advanced to third before Enmanuel Valdez grounded into what looked like an inning-ending putout at first base.

Rather than record the final out of the inning, though, Naylor fumbled the ball as he attempted to make an underhanded toss to Bibee, who was covering the first-base bag. As a result of Naylor’s blunder, Hernandez scored from third to put Boston back up, 2-1.

Again, that lead was short-lived. In the bottom of the fourth, Amed Rosario led off with a single. Jose Ramirez then hit a grounder in the direction of Triston Casas, but the rookie first baseman failed to corral it and the ball wound up deflecting over to Valdez. Valdez fielded the ball cleanly, but his underhanded toss went over the head of Casas, allowing both Rosario and Ramirez to advance into scoring position.

Both Casas and Valdez were charged with errors on the play, but the Red Sox were not done yet. After Naylor singled in Rosario to tie and knock Crawford out of the game, Brennan Bernardino got Bell to hit a grounder to Devers, but the ball deflected off his glove and Ramirez came into score the go-ahead run as a result.

Devers allowed the Guardians to take a 3-2 lead on his sixth error of the season. Of those three runs, only one was charged to Crawford. The 27-year-old righty gave up five hits, zero walks, and struck out three over three-plus innings of work. He finished with 58 pitches (41 strikes) and was ultimately hit with the losing decision.

Picking things up in the middle of the fifth, Justin Garza took over for Bernardino out of the bullpen. Garza retired two of the first three batters he faced before surrendering back-to-back run-scoring doubles to Rosario and Ramirez with two outs in the inning to give Cleveland a 5-2 advantage.

Chris Murphy came on with two outs in the fifth and proceeded to impress in what was his major-league debut. After getting called up for the first time on Tuesday, the 25-year-old lefty scattered two hits and one walk to go along with a game-high five punchouts across 3 1/3 scoreless frames of relief.

Murphy retired the side in order in the sixth, worked his way around a single and a walk in the seventh, and stranded a runner at second in the eighth. The California-born southpaw threw 54 pitches (32 strikes) and induced seven swings-and-misses. He also averaged 94.5 mph and topped out at 95.8 mph with his four-seam fastball.

While Murphy was busy putting up zeroes, though, the Red Sox lineup was unable to close the gap. From the top of the sixth through the end of the ninth, four different Guardians relievers (Eli Morgan, Sam Hentges, Trevor Stephan, and closer Emmanuel Clase) combined for four scoreless innings of one-hit ball.

By the time Boston was down to its final three outs in the ninth, Jarren Duran made things somewhat interesting by drawing a leadoff walk and stealing second base. But Connor Wong and the pinch-hitting Rob Refsnyder both fanned before Christian Arroyo lined out sharply to deep center field to end it.

All told, the Red Sox went a measly 1-for-14 with runners in scoring position and left eight runners on base as a team. They were limited to just one hit after the fourth inning and have now dropped seven of their last 10.

Next up: Dermody gets the ball for rubber match

The Red Sox will select the contract of left-hander Matt Dermody from Triple-A Worcester and have him start the rubber match of this three-game set on Thursday. The Guardians will counter with right-hander Aaron Civale.

First pitch from Progressive Field is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. eastern time on NESN.

(Picture of Chris Murphy: Frank Jansky/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Red Sox prospect Ceddanne Rafaela tallies 3 hits, steals 3 bases in latest strong showing for Double-A Portland

Versatile Red Sox prospect Ceddanne Rafaela recorded his fourth three-hit game of the season in Double-A Portland’s 6-2 win over the Akron RubberDucks on Tuesday night.

Leading off and starting in center field for the Sea Dogs to kick off a six-game series at Hadlock Field, Rafaela went 3-for-4 with three singles and one run scored. The speedy 22-year-old extended his hitting streak to 11 games and also stole three bases.

Following Tuesday’s performance, Rafaela is now batting .284/.322/.411 with 12 doubles, four home runs, 31 RBIs, 32 runs scored, an Eastern League-leading 25 stolen bases (in 31 attempts), 11 walks, and 40 strikeouts in 46 games (205 plate appearances) with Portland so far this season.

Rafaela came into the year with high expectations after a breakout 2022 campaign that netted him a spot on the Red Sox’ 40-man roster last November. But the right-handed hitter got off to an underwhelming start to begin his first full season with the Sea Dogs.

After going 0-for-5 with two strikeouts in a 4-3 loss to the Hartford Yard Goats on May 18, Rafaela found himself slashing .262/.309/.346 through 31 games (139 plate appearances). He has since registered at least one hit in 14 of his last 15 games and is hitting .333 (20-for-60) over that stretch. Since the calendar flipped from May to June, he has gone 10-for-22 (.455) at the plate with two doubles, one homer, five runs driven in, five runs scored, five stolen bases, zero walks, and just one strikeout.

On the other side of the ball, Rafaela has split time between shortstop and center field this season. The 5-foot-9, 152-pounder has logged 66 innings at the former and 286 1/3 innings at the latter after making his 33rd start of the year there on Tuesday.

Originally signed for just $10,000 as an international free agent coming out of Curacao in July 2017, Rafaela has risen through the ranks and is currently regarded by Baseball America as the No. 3 prospect in Boston’s farm system and the No. 70 prospect in the sport.

Considering how well he has been performing as of late, one has to wonder if Rafaela could soon be on the verge of a promotion to Triple-A Worcester. The Willemstad native does not turn 23 until September, but he has played nearly a full season’s worth of games at the Double-A level after first making the jump from High-A Greenville last June.

With plus speed and solid instincts in the field, Rafaela has the ability to play two key defensive positions at a high level. The fact that he was named the Red Sox’ Defensive Player of the Year in each of the last two seasons reflects as much.

Though there is still room for improvement as far as pitch selection and plate discipline are concerned, it may be best for Rafaela to continue developing in Worcester so that he can face new challenges at a more advanced level moving forward.

(Picture of Ceddanne Rafaela: Kelly O’Connor/sittingstill.smugmug.com)