{"id":41003,"date":"2025-03-09T07:41:09","date_gmt":"2025-03-09T07:41:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=41003"},"modified":"2025-03-09T07:41:09","modified_gmt":"2025-03-09T07:41:09","slug":"breaking-red-sox-ceddanne-rafaela-looks-forward-to-putting-rookie-struggles-at-the-plate-behind-him-with-new-plan-in-place","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=41003","title":{"rendered":"BREAKING: Red Sox\u2019 Ceddanne Rafaela looks forward to putting rookie struggles at the plate behind him with new plan in place"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Ceddanne Rafaela led AL rookies with 75 RBIs last season but also struggled to a .274 on-base percentage.<\/span>Danielle Parhizkaran\/Globe Staff<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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FORT MYERS, Fla. \u2014 Did Ceddanne Rafaela have a good rookie season?<\/span><\/p>\n

It depends on what you watched.<\/span><\/p>\n

The 24-year-old from Curacao was one of the best defensive players in the game, starting 71 games at shortstop and 72 in center field. He had a combined 10 defensive runs saved at two difficult positions.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n

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But Rafaela also had a .274 on-base percentage, fourth lowest among qualified players in the majors. He struck out 151 times in 571 plate appearances and drew only 14 unintentional walks.<\/p>\n

Rafaela walked twice from June 18 to Aug. 5. At that point of the season a pitcher could have rolled the ball to the plate and he would have taken a swing.<\/p>\n

It was not the return the Red Sox expected when they signed Rafaela to an eight-year, $50 million extension at the start of the season.<\/p>\n

But at his young age, Rafaela is far from a finished product. He views last season as a necessary lesson, painful as it was at times.<\/p>\n

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A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cI learned what it takes to play 162 games and it\u2019s hard,\u201d Rafaela said Saturday. \u201cNot physically, more mentally.\u201d<\/p>\n

The fruitless at-bats and bad swings wore on Rafaela. That he led American League rookies with 75 RBIs offered no solace.<\/p>\n

\u201cI knew I had to change what I was doing and have better at-bats,\u201d he said. \u201cI needed a better plan.\u201d<\/p>\n

In December, Rafaela started hitting at a facility in Hialeah, Fla., close to his home in Miami. It\u2019s where J.D. Martinez has trained for years.<\/p>\n

Rafaela worked on pitch recognition, having better discipline at the plate, and getting stronger.<\/p>\n

Red Sox coaches checked in frequently during the offseason and since spring training started, Rafaela has listened carefully to what Alex Bregman has to say.<\/p>\n

Rafaela had a three-hit game earlier this month that included a single on a full-count slider that was off the plate. He celebrated the hit only to be told by Bregman that it was a pitch he should have taken.<\/p>\n

\u201cOver the course of the season if you keep swinging at that slider it\u2019s going to be an out,\u201d manager Alex Cora said. \u201cSo you take your walk and you move on. Having Alex around him is going to help out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rafaela doesn\u2019t have statistical goals for the season. He just knows the numbers will be better if he stops swinging at bad pitches.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have to think about what I don\u2019t want to swing at as much as what I do want to swing at,\u201d he said. \u201cIf I do that, I\u2019ll be fine. The experience from last year is going to help me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rafaela also is eager to see what can happen if he plays the entire season in center.<\/p>\n

How good could he be?<\/p>\n

\u201cYou tell me,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Well, the defensive metrics suggest Rafaela could be the best center fielder in the game over a full season.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s my goal,\u201d he said. \u201cI want to get a Gold Glove. I really want to see what I can do playing center field. I\u2019ll play wherever the team needs me. But I think I\u2019m best in center.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rafaela smiled when asked if he could be as good as fellow Curacaoan Andruw Jones, who won 10 Gold Gloves.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s who I watched when I was growing up,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s the goal. He\u2019s a good guy for me to look at.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rafaela has played only center in spring training and Cora wants to leave him there.<\/p>\n

Jones could offer an offensive model, too. He had a .317 OBP over his first two seasons and 184 games. It improved to .345 over the following six seasons as Jones became an All-Star.<\/p>\n

For now, Cora will settle for steady improvement.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor a first full season, it was solid,\u201d Cora said. \u201cBut he understands there are things he needs to work on and he worked hard in the offseason.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo be honest, you see a more mature kid. He\u2019s stronger but the way he\u2019s conducting himself is eye-opening.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rafaela, settling in as a full-time center fielder, approaches 2025 after an offseason working on pitch recognition, plate discipline, and getting stronger.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":41004,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[74],"class_list":["post-41003","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb","tag-red-sox"],"yoast_head":"\nBREAKING: Red Sox\u2019 Ceddanne Rafaela looks forward to putting rookie struggles at the plate behind him with new plan in place - News 365<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=41003\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"BREAKING: Red Sox\u2019 Ceddanne Rafaela looks forward to putting rookie struggles at the plate behind him with new plan in place - 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