{"id":20315,"date":"2025-01-18T23:58:30","date_gmt":"2025-01-18T23:58:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=20315"},"modified":"2025-01-18T23:58:30","modified_gmt":"2025-01-18T23:58:30","slug":"craig-breslow-drops-bombshell-on-top-red-sox-prospects-opening-day-role","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=20315","title":{"rendered":"Craig Breslow Drops Bombshell on Top Red Sox Prospect\u2019s Opening Day Role!"},"content":{"rendered":"
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It sure sounds like Ceddanne Rafaela is Boston’s chosen center fielder heading into the new season<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Maddie Malhotra\/Boston Red Sox \/ Getty Images Sport via Getty Images<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Boston Red Sox fans expect superstar prospect Roman Anthony to play center field this season, but recent comments from chief baseball officer Craig Breslow indicate that\u2019s not going to happen.<\/p>\n

Surely, Red Sox management foresees Anthony\u2019s entrance onto the Major League Baseball stage in 2025, but a huge questions persists: Where is Anthony going to play in the field?<\/p>\n

With Breslow claiming \u2014 per 98.5 The Sports Hub\u2019s\u00a0Tyler Milliken<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 that Ceddanne Rafaela will be Boston\u2019s regular center fielder this season, the Red Sox outfield doesn\u2019t have any room for Anthony right now.<\/p>\n

BoSox Injection\u2019s Henry Blickenstaff talked about this\u00a0Anthony predicament<\/a>\u00a0on Saturday.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere’s just one problem (with Anthony playing),\u201d Blickenstaff said. \u201cThe Red Sox outfield is full. Jarren Duran, Ceddanne Rafaela and Wilyer Abreu are the projected starters from left to right.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBreslow \u2026 (said) that the Red Sox will try to keep (Rafaela) in center rather than switching him back and forth between the outfield and infield. Rafaela played mostly center in September 2024, but bounced around between short and center for the rest of the year.\u201d<\/p>\n

Breslow\u2019s exact comments \u2014 per Milliken \u2014 went as follows:<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not sure we saw the best of (Rafaela in 2024) even defensively because of the fact that he was switching back and forth between center and shortstop,\u201d Breslow said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd so I think he\u2019s a guy that we will try to keep in center as much as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

Blickenstaff \u2014 like many Red Sox fans \u2014 was slightly perplexed by Breslow\u2019s recent comments on Rafaela.<\/p>\n

\u201cBreslow’s comments were interesting because it seems like the natural place for Rafaela is in the infield,\u201d Blickenstaff said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Red Sox will no doubt prioritize Anthony, who they hope will be a cornerstone for the franchise. Since Rafaela can play anywhere, it doesn’t make sense to commit to him playing in center when Anthony is breathing down his neck. There’s also more room in the infield, as short and second are both question marks for this roster and Rafaela has experience playing both.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trevor Story is Boston\u2019s expected starter at shortstop in 2025, but his injury history makes that position a question mark, as worded by Blickenstaff. There\u2019s also Anthony\u2019s stud running mate in the minors, Marcelo Mayer, waiting in the wings for his big league opportunity, with shortstop being his preferred position.<\/p>\n

All in all, perhaps Breslow knows something we don’t. Is there a Masataka Yoshida trade in the works, opening up a DH spot that would make it easier to slide Anthony into the outfield? Even more juicy \u2014 is there an Abreu trade in the works?<\/p>\n

If neither is true, and Breslow\u2019s Rafaela comments are earnest, one must assume that the Red Sox aren\u2019t making Anthony an Opening Day priority.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It sure sounds like Ceddanne Rafaela is Boston’s chosen center fielder heading into the new season Maddie Malhotra\/Boston Red Sox \/ Getty Images Sport via Getty Images… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":20317,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20315","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb"],"yoast_head":"\nCraig Breslow Drops Bombshell on Top Red Sox Prospect\u2019s Opening Day Role! - 24\/7 News America<\/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:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=20315\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Craig Breslow Drops Bombshell on Top Red Sox Prospect\u2019s Opening Day Role! 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