Tag: mlb all-star game

How did Red Sox prospect Ceddanne Rafaela fare in All-Star Futures Game?

Versatile Red Sox prospect Ceddanne Rafaela made his debut in the MLB All-Star Futures Game at Dodger Stadium on Saturday night.

Representing the Red Sox alongside top pitching prospect Brayan Bello (who was replaced on the American League roster earlier this week), Rafaela was used as a pinch-hitter in the AL’s 6-4 victory over the National League in the seven-inning showcase.

The right-handed hitter came on for Yankees outfielder Jasson Dominguez in the top of the fourth inning and wound up going 0-for-2 with two strikeouts. Defensively, Rafaela took over at shortstop for another Yankees prospect in Anthony Volpe. He had one ball hit to him — a 74 mph grounder off the bat of Logan O’Hoppe — and fielded it cleanly to record the first out of the seventh inning.

Athletics catching prospect Shea Langeliers was named the game’s Most Valuable Player after going 1-for-2 with a solo home run. Blue Jays pitching prospect Yosver Zulueta earned the winning decision.

Rafaela, meanwhile, is currently regarded by Baseball America as the No. 5 prospect in Boston’s farm system and the 84th-ranked prospect in all of baseball.

After beginning the 2022 season at High-A Greenville, Rafaela earned a promotion to Double-A Portland on June 7. Since then, the 21-year-old has batted a stout .282/.331/.564 to go along with six doubles, three triples, seven home runs, 19 RBIs, 21 runs scored, five stolen bases, five walks, and 23 strikeouts in his first 29 games (128 plate appearances) with the Sea Dogs.

On the other side of the ball, Rafaela has experience at six different positions. So far with Portland, the 5-foot-8, 152-pounder has logged nine innings at second base, 36 innings at shortstop, and 202 innings in center field, which is his best position.

Originally signed by the Red Sox for just $10,000 as an international free-agent coming out of Curacao a little more than five years ago, Rafaela — who turns 22 in September — can become eligible for the Rule 5 Draft for the second time in his career this winter.

The Red Sox would need to add Rafaela to their 40-man roster by late November in order to prevent that from happening, which now seems all but guaranteed to happen.

(Picture of Ceddanne Rafaela: Rob Tringali/MLB Photos via Getty Images)

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Red Sox’ Rafael Devers named finalist to start at third base in MLB All-Star Game

Rafael Devers has been named a finalist to start at third base for the American League in next month’s All-Star Game at Dodger Stadium, Major League Baseball announced earlier Thursday afternoon.

Opposing Devers for the starting spot will be Guardians third baseman Jose Ramirez. With Phase 1 fan voting voting on Thursday, it was revealed that Ramirez received 1,971,688 votes while Devers received 1,871,493 votes. When Phase 2 of head-to-head voting begins next Tuesday, each player will start back out with zero votes.

Fans will then have until July 8 to determine who between Devers and Ramirez will start for the American League in the 92nd Midsummer Classic on July 19. Devers got the starting nod in his first career All-Star appearance last year while Ramirez is a three-time All-Star and two-time All-Star starter himself.

As things stand now, Devers is the only member of the Red Sox who has a chance at starting in the All-Star Game since all other eligible players fell short in Phase 1 fan voting at their respective positions.

Xander Bogaerts, for instance, received 1,271,340 votes to finish third among American League shortstops behind Toronto’s Bo Bichette and the White Sox’ Tim Anderson.

J.D. Martinez, on the other hand, received 681,614 votes to finish fourth among American League designated hitters behind Houston’s Yordan Alvarez, the Angels’ Shohei Ohtani, and Toronto’s Danny Jansen.

If Bogaerts, Martinez, or any other Red Sox player is hoping to be named to the American League All-Star team, they will have to get in as a reserve through the player vote. Full All-Star rosters for both the American and National League will be unveiled on July 10.

(Picture of Rafael Devers: Elsa/Getty Images)

Red Sox ‘lobbying hard’ for MLB All-Star Game to return to Fenway Park, Sam Kennedy says

The Red Sox would like to host the MLB All-Star Game sometime in the not-so-distant future, team CEO and president Sam Kennedy said when speaking with reporters at JetBlue Park on Tuesday.

“We are lobbying hard at the Major League Baseball level,” said Kennedy. “I think we’re finally coming up in the rotation at some point here. 1999 was amazing. That was just an incredible night so we’d love to have the All-Star Game back.”

As Kennedy pointed out, the Red Sox last hosted the All-Star Game at Fenway Park in 1999, when MLB honored its All-Century team. According to MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo, the club would like to bring the Midsummer Classic back to Boston within the next five years.

“The Sox are aggressively pushing for the Midsummer Classic to come back to Boston in the coming years, multiple sources said, and have had discussions with Major League Baseball about doing so,” Cotillo wrote on Tuesday. “Word is that two specific years — 2025 and 2027 — are on the club’s radar.”

Why 2025 and 2027? Well, MLB has already determined where three of the next five All-Star Games will be. Los Angeles’ Dodger Stadium will host the game this summer while Seattle’s T-Mobile Park will do so next year.

The 2024 slot remains available, though Philadelphia’s Citizens Bank Park will host the keystone event in 2026 to mark the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

With that, the Red Sox do have some options when it comes to hosting the game, though Kennedy reiterated Tuesday that the team would prefer it returns to Boston sooner rather than later.

“ASAP,” Kennedy said when asked about a potential year. “When it’s available, when it works for Major League Baseball, we’d love to be considered.”

Since it first opened in 1912, Fenway Park has hosted the All-Star Game on three separate occasions: 1946, 1961, and 1999. The city of Boston, on the other hand, has hosted four Midsummer Classics since the 1936 installment was held at Braves Field — which was then called National League Park.

(Picture of Fenway Park: Adam Glanzman/Getty Images)