Red Sox Welcome Gold Glover Back into Lineup

Rafaela rarely got a day off for the first few months of the season, playing in 135 out of the first 140 games before the injury. Some struggles at the plate and his eventual trip to the IL were signs that the attrition of a full season was catching up to him, and the Red Sox made the careful decision to get him off of his feet for most of the final month.

It goes without saying that Rafaela’s stellar glove in center will be a huge boost as Boston charges into the Wild Card series next week. His 15 outs above average rank second at the position only behind NL MVP favorite Pete Crow-Armstrong and 10th among all position players. He is also tied for fourth in MLB in total defensive runs saved with 20.

The question will be how effective he is at the plate after the somewhat lengthy layoff. In each of his first two full big league seasons, Rafaela’s offensive production tailed off toward the end of the year. This was especially apparent in 2025, when he posted a .797 OPS before the All-Star break and just a .587 OPS after.

The 26-year-old had a breakout campaign at this dish this year, posting career-highs in nearly every offensive category while slashing .282/.317/.443 and cutting down on chase and whiff rates. But old habits had started to creep in during the weeks before his shut down, and it remains to be seen what kind version of Rafaela the Red Sox will get for the rest of the season.

With that uncertainty, it is wise for Craig Breslow and newly minted full-time manager Chad Tracy to get him back on the field with a few games left to ease back into the speed and timing of major league pitching. Rafaela also faced rehabbing ace Garrett Crochet in a live BP session at Fenway Park on Tuesday where Crochet worked his fastball up to 96 mph.

While it has been a banged-up club for the better part of a month, the Red Sox appear to be close to full strength for the start of the postseason, with the team’s top two position players in fWAR (Rafaela and Willson Contreras) seemingly good to go for the Wild Card round.

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