Ceddanne Rafaela
Boston Red Sox – No. 43
Outfielder
Born: (2000-09-18) September 18, 2000
Willemstad, Curaçao
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
MLB debut
August 28, 2023, for the Boston Red Sox
MLB statistics
(through 2023 season)
Batting average.241
Home runs2
Runs batted in5
Teams

Ceddanne Chipper Nicasio Marte Rafaela (born September 18, 2000) is a Curaçaoan professional baseball outfielder for the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2023.

Biography

Rafaela participated in the 2012 Little League World Series as a member of the Willemstad team representing the Caribbean Region.[1] He signed with the Boston Red Sox as an international free agent in July 2017.[2] Rafaela made his professional debut in 2018 with the Dominican Summer League Red Sox. In 2019, he played for the Gulf Coast Red Sox and Lowell Spinners.

Rafaela did not play in 2020 due to the Minor League Baseball season being cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. He returned in 2021 to play for the Salem Red Sox.[3] He started 2022 with the Greenville Drive before being promoted to the Portland Sea Dogs.[4][5] Rafaela was selected to the 2022 All-Star Futures Game.[6] For the season, Rafaela was named minor-league Defensive Player of the Year by the Red Sox organization.[7]

On November 15, 2022, Rafaela was added to Boston's 40-man roster.[8] In January 2023, he was ranked 71st in the Baseball America list of baseball's top 100 prospects.[9] Rafaela was initially optioned to the Triple-A Worcester Red Sox to begin the 2023 season.[10] However, on March 28, 2023, the Red Sox announced that Rafaela would begin in Double-A Portland so he could work on his approach at the plate without having to adjust to the higher level.[11] On May 13, Rafaela set a franchise record after stealing six bases in a game against the Somerset Patriots—he was initially credited with seven steals, but had one taken away due to defensive indifference.[12] Rafaela was promoted to Worcester on June 28.[13] On August 28, he was added to Boston's major-league active roster.[14] He made his MLB debut that evening, collecting a hit in his first at bat.[15] On September 12, 2023, in the second game of the doubleheader against the New York Yankees, Rafaela hit his first major-league home run, estimated at 400 feet, off of Carlos Rodon.[16] In September, Rafaela was recognized as the Red Sox' minor-league baserunner of the year for 2023.[17]

Personal life

Rafaela's middle name of "Chipper" comes from Chipper Jones, due to his mother being a fan of the Atlanta Braves.[18]

References

  1. ↑ Stiefel, Keagan (February 8, 2023). "Red Sox Prospect Outlook: Can Ceddanne Rafaela Exceed Insane 2022 Season?". NESN. Retrieved August 29, 2023.
  2. ↑ "Red Sox' most improbable prospect is power-hitting 5-8 utilityman Ceddanne Rafaela - the Boston Globe". The Boston Globe.
  3. ↑ "Ceddanne Rafaela Makes More Hard Contact for Red Sox". April 16, 2022.
  4. ↑ "Boston Red Sox's other Raffy: Ceddanne Rafaela is 76 pounds lighter than Rafael Devers but has 5 homers, 5 doubles in 10 games". April 20, 2022.
  5. ↑ "Surging Red Sox Prospect Ceddanne Rafaela to Make Double-A Debut". June 7, 2022.
  6. ↑ Mayo, Jonathan (July 14, 2022). "Here are the 2022 Futures Game rosters". MLB.com. Retrieved July 16, 2022.
  7. ↑ Woodward, Will (September 27, 2022). "Minor Notes: Red Sox announce their Players of the Year & Portland's playoff run ends". soxprospects.com. Retrieved October 7, 2022.
  8. ↑ "Red Sox Roster & Staff – Transactions". MLB.com. Boston Red Sox. November 2022. Retrieved November 15, 2022.
  9. ↑ Abraham, Peter (January 21, 2023). "Sunday Baseball Notes". The Boston Globe. Retrieved January 22, 2023.
  10. ↑ "Red Sox's Ceddanne Rafaela: Shipped to minor-league camp". cbssports.com. Retrieved 2023-03-14.
  11. ↑ "Red Sox's Ceddanne Rafaela: Will begin season in Double-A". cbssports.com. Retrieved 2023-03-29.
  12. ↑ "Red Sox prospect steals SIX bases in one game". mlb.com. Retrieved 2023-05-25.
  13. ↑ Cassell, Tommy (August 28, 2023). "Meet one of the top Red Sox prospects, who recently earned a promotion to Triple-A Worcester". Telegram & Gazette. Worcester, Massachusetts. Retrieved August 28, 2023.
  14. ↑ "Red Sox Announce Roster Moves". MLB.com (Press release). Boston Red Sox. August 28, 2023. Retrieved August 28, 2023.
  15. ↑ "Ceddanne Rafaela's first hit". MLB.com. August 28, 2023. Retrieved August 28, 2023.
  16. ↑ Browne, Ian (2023-09-13). "Rafaela shows off light-tower power with 1st big league homer". mlb.com. Retrieved 2023-09-13.
  17. ↑ Speier, Alex (September 26, 2023). "Minor league honors offer Red Sox chance to reflect on their developing homegrown pitching pipeline". The Boston Globe. Retrieved September 27, 2023.
  18. ↑ Ryan, Conor (August 28, 2023). "5 things to know about Red Sox prospect Ceddanne Rafaela after his call-up to MLB". Boston.com. Retrieved August 28, 2023.
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