Who Needs to Step Up for Boston Red Sox in Ceddanne Rafaela’s Absence?
The All-Star centerfielder landed on the injured list ahead of Sunday's win. How will the Red Sox replace his production?
Video Transcript
What's up, everyone?
Zach Coe here for Roundtable.
Ahead of Sunday afternoon's series finale win over the Baltimore Orioles, the Red Sox took another hit on the injury front as they placed all-star center fielder, Seydahn Rafael, on the ten-day injured list with a right quad strain.
Now, this isn't something that snuck up on the Red Sox.
Rafael had missed each of the Sox first three games in Baltimore while dealing with the injury, and the team was hopeful that he wasn't going to need a trip to the injured list to get right.
But with the way that they've been playing things with these injuries, first with Wilson Contreras, Tyron Guerrero, Garrett Whitlock, and Justin Slayton, just to name a few, it always seemed like the likely outcome that Rafael would land on the IL as the Sox try to get themselves one hundred percent healthy before heading towards what is likely going to be a wildcard matchup with the Yankees.
But Rafael has been one of the most crucial pieces of both this Red Sox offense and defense in twenty twenty-six, posting a career year.
He's still flashing that same platinum glove defense out there in center field.
But he's taken a major step forward at the plate this year as well, hitting two eighty-two with a seven sixty OPS, already tying a career high in home runs with sixteen.
So it really puts a whole lot of pressure on two guys in particular to pick up the slack, and that is Jaron Duran and Roman Anthony.
For a little bit, Duran, it looked like he was starting to put some things together at the plate, hitting two sixty-five with an eight thirty-three OPS in his first twenty-three games in August.
However, since then, he's come back down to earth, going just three for thirty-three in the nine games since.
And I don't think you can name five more disappointing players across all of baseball in twenty twenty-six than Duran.
He's hitting just two oh two with a six fourteen OPS, ranking among the ten worst qualified hitters in batting average on base percentage and WRC+.
With the Red Sox looking to Eli White to replace Rafael's defense in center field, he's not exactly known for his offensive prowess, so the pressure is gonna be on Duran to recapture that early August form and get going at the plate to replace his production.
As for Roman Anthony, he's been everything the team could have asked for and then some since returning from the injured list a week ago, hitting three twenty-three with a ten twenty-eight OPS.
And earlier in the season before he went down, there was a lot of pressure placed on the then twenty-one-year-old's shoulders to carry this Red Sox offense that didn't really do much to replace the production left behind by Rafael Devers, who was traded in June of twenty twenty-five.
And the team has done well to pick up the slack or had done well to pick up the slack in his absence, with Rafaela emerging as a key contributor in the two hole.
Wilson Contreras, of course, is experiencing a career year at the plate before he went down.
But now with both of those guys out of the lineup, the pressure is firmly back on Anthony's shoulders to be the spark plug and driver of this Red Sox offense.
