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Ceddanne Rafaela was enjoying some PlayStation with his brother on Monday when the Red Sox top prospect noticed that he had missed “a couple” calls from Triple-A Worcester manager Chad Tracy.
When he called back, Rafaela said “Trace” decided to have a little fun with breaking the news.
“He told me, ‘You didn’t want to play in the big leagues?” Rafaela chuckled. “I was like, ‘Of course!”
Sitting in the home dugout at Fenway Park, the 22-year-old infielder-turned-outfielder didn’t try to hide his emotions, and couldn’t stop smiling.
“It’s everything I always wanted in my life,” he beamed. “It’s the most beautiful day.”
The Red Sox made a flurry of roster moves on Monday afternoon. They placed Pablo Reyes on the 10-day injured list with left elbow inflammation and recalled infielder David Hamilton from Triple-A on Monday, and outfielder Wilyer Abreu went on the Paternity List, welcoming his first child less than a week after his own Major League debut.
Thus, Rafaela is getting his chance.
He is, by far, the highest-ranked Red Sox prospect to get the call this season. He broke out last season with dazzling defense, leading his Double-A manager to go so far as to say that he was a better defender at that stage of his career than Mookie Betts had been at the same level.
He’s also impressed at the plate since his promotion to Triple-A Worcester at the end of June. Over 48 WooSox games, he’s hit .312 with a .988 OPS, 62 hits, 13 doubles, 14 home runs, 40 runs scored, and 42 RBI. He also showed off his speed in the outfield and on the base paths, stealing 36 bases in 108 games between Double- and Triple-A.
Fresh off a rehab assignment in Triple-A, Tanner Houck had a front-row seat for the Rafaela show.
“Incredible talent,” the 27-year-old right-hander told the Herald. “The utility of being able to play infield and outfield, I think, is something that is super-important in today’s game. Being able to play multiple positions, I think it gives you more of a shot to continue to be up here.”
Rafaela confirmed he’s starting on Tuesday, and Alex Cora said he could get into Monday’s series opener against the Houston Astros, as well, if the right circumstances present themselves.
“Amazing, to play my first game at Fenway,” he said, sounding both awed and in disbelief over his good fortune.
“It means a lot,” he added, explaining that he grew up a Red Sox fan. “And my mom, I think this is more exciting for her than for me, because before I (was) born, she was a Red Sox fan. So, it’s a very special moment to make my debut with the Red Sox.”
Curaçao represented
Baseball can be a lonely existence, especially for players who come to the Majors and Minors from countries that haven’t sent many players to the leagues. This season, Red Sox infielder Yu Chang, who’s currently in Triple-A, broke the MLB record for career games by a Taiwanese player. But when he played for Team Chinese Taipei in the World Baseball Classic in March, the Pool-A MVP opened up about how isolating North American baseball can be.
“No one stands beside me when I’m playing overseas,” Chang told reporters. “I’m always lonely and have to take in everything by myself.”
Rafaela will only be the 17th player in MLB history from Curaçao, a small Dutch Caribbean island that forms the ABC Islands with neighboring Aruba and Bonaire. Currently, there are only four active Major Leaguers from his homeland.
One of them is Kenley Jansen, who sounded like a very eager one-man welcoming committee before Rafaela arrived on Monday afternoon.
Upon hearing the news of the call-up, he strode through the Red Sox clubhouse shouting, “Now we got two!”
“It’s a dream come true,” Jansen told the Herald. “It makes me feel like me, what? 13, 14 years ago? When I first got called up.”
“You see your dream come to reality,” he continued. “I will never forget that moment, so I’m sure, what that moment feels like for him and his family, and I can’t be prouder for him, the work that he put in.
“I will talk to him when he gets here,” the closer added. “I follow his track record, and I want nothing but the best for him, to have a great career, and it’s coming up right now. The future is bright for him.”
Jansen is one of five Curaçaoan to pitch in the Major Leagues, and the first to wear the Red Sox uniform, but Rafaela will be the first to debut, hit, and play a position for the franchise.
“It’s crazy to have two players from such a small island, special for us to play on the same team,” Rafaela said.
Player of the Week
Adam Duvall earned American League Player of the Week honors for the second time this season.
No surprise there, as the veteran outfielder collected five home runs and five doubles, and 12 RBI in just 31 plate appearances last week.
The National League’s POTW? Mookie Betts.
On the farm
Grant Gambrell shined in his Triple-A Worcester debut on Saturday, tossing 5 ⅔ innings of shutout ball to earn his first WooSox win. He held the Rochester Red Wings to two hits, four walks, and struck out five in his 97-pitch start. The Washington Nationals’ Triple-A affiliate didn’t get a hit off Gambrell until there were two outs in the fifth.
The 25-year-old right-hander is one of the prospects acquired from the Kansas City Royals in the Andrew Benintendi trade. This is his second promotion of the season; he began the minor league season with six starts for High-A Greenville, then advanced to Double-A Portland in mid-May and made 15 Sea Dog starts before moving up to the top level of the farm.
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