The Boston Red Sox are preparing for the 2024 campaign, and it will be interesting to see how the team fares after a relatively quiet offseason of work. After finishing in last place in the American League East in 2023, the expectation was that the team would shell out some money in free agency to upgrade their team, but for the most part, that simply has not happened.
Boston's 2024 roster initially looks worse than their 2023 squad, which is saying something considering how bad they were last season. However, an encouraging development for them in recent seasons has been the improvement of their farm system, and they could be aided by some of their top prospects this year after not making many moves over the offseason.
Any hopes of the Sox achieving some sort of success this season likely hinges on whether some of their prospects can make it to the majors, and then contribute at a high level. While not all of their top prospects are major-league ready, there is one guy who could end up cracking the Opening Day roster, so let's take a look at who that is and see why he could end up making the major-league squad right out of Spring Training.
Red Sox prospect who could make Opening Day roster: Ceddanne Rafaela
This may be cheating a bit since Ceddanne Rafaela made his major league debut last season for a brief 28-game stretch of action, but it's not as if he is a de facto lock to make the roster. Rafaela only played 48 games at Triple-A with the Worcester Red Sox before getting promoted to the majors, and he could benefit from some more seasoning in the minors.
But there's also a chance that Rafaela begins the season in the majors. Rafaela skyrocketed through Boston's minor league system over the past few seasons thanks to his unique blend of power, speed, and positional versatility on defense. Considering the lack of other impact bats on the roster, he has a decent shot of making the Opening Day roster.
Rafaela enjoyed a strong start to the season in Double-A with the Portland Sea Dogs (.294 BA, 6 HR, 37 RBI, 30 SB, .773 OPS) before he was promoted to Triple-A, where he was somehow even better (.312 BA, 14 HR, 42 RBI, 6 SB, .988 OPS). Boston couldn't ignore Rafaela's torrid hitting in the minors, and gave him a brief call up to the majors to end the season (.241 BA, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 3 SB, .666 OPS).
Even though he struggled a bit in the majors, which was to be expected, there's a lot to like about Rafaela's game and how it could translate to the majors. Despite being just 5'9, Rafaela possesses quite a bit of pop in his bat, and his playstyle is somewhat reminiscent of former fan favorite Mookie Betts, who also flew through the minors before becoming one of the best players in the league.
This isn't to say that Rafaela is going to become as good as Betts, but he has a very similar style of play. Rafaela profiles as a guy who could hit for 30 homers and steal 40 bases throughout the course of the season, while hitting from somewhere between ,250-.270. If he could improve his contact and limit his strikeouts, Rafaela has all the makings of being a perennial All-Star for the Red Sox.
Another uncanny similarity between Rafaela and Betts is that they can play all over the field in defense. Betts was initially a second baseman, but he got shifted to the outfield, before getting sent back to second base with the Los Angeles Dodgers this season. Rafaela can play in the outfield, while also spending time at shortstop and third base in the minors. He spent most of his time with Boston in center field last year, but he did play at shortstop and second base for a handful of games too.
The Red Sox generally have their starting lineup set in stone, but there's certainly room for a potential impact player like Rafaela to find his way onto their roster to start the season. Even if he's largely just coming off the bench, Rafaela is a good utility player to have at your disposal, and that could be the best way to develop him given that handing him a starting job may be a bit too much.
There's a decent chance Rafaela starts the season in Triple-A so that he can get more at-bats, but if he plays well during Spring Training, there's no reason to send him back to the minors. Rafaela has already proven he can rake at Triple-A, so if he swings a hot bat during February and March, he should be able to crack the Opening Day roster.
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