{"id":40626,"date":"2025-04-13T03:08:17","date_gmt":"2025-04-13T03:08:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=40626"},"modified":"2025-04-13T03:08:17","modified_gmt":"2025-04-13T03:08:17","slug":"breaking-mets-could-trade-for-red-sox-50-million-outfielder-to-fix-achilles-heel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=40626","title":{"rendered":"BREAKING: Mets Could Trade For Red Sox $50 Million Outfielder To Fix ‘Achilles’ Heel’"},"content":{"rendered":"
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He’ll have other suitors in the NL if he hits the trade block, however…<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\"May<\/picture><\/figure>\n
May 2, 2017; Atlanta, GA, USA; General view of New York Mets helmet in the dugout before a game against the Atlanta Braves at SunTrust Park. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images \/ Brett Davis-Imagn Images<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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The Boston Red Sox\u2019s inconvenient surplus of outfielders could soon become a solution for the New York Mets.<\/p>\n

The Mets are still constructing what they hope will be a World Series roster, but center field is a weak spot. Bleacher Report\u2019s Kerry Miller\u00a0wrote about that weakness\u00a0on Thursday and mentioned three guys the Mets could go after to fix the issue.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Mets’ center field situation is every bit as problematic as we feared it might be when they chose that spot to be \u2026 uncommonly frugal (this past offseason), rolling with a $5.425 million platoon of Jose Siri and Tyrone Taylor,\u201d Miller wrote.<\/p>\n

\u201cSiri at least typically provides value with his speed on the basepaths and his range on defense, but that might not be enough at a position that could be the potential Achilles’ heel that keeps the Mets from winning a loaded NL East. \u2026 Potential Solutions: Luis Robert Jr., Mike Yastrzemski, Tyler O’Neill.\u201d<\/p>\n

One guy that Miller didn\u2019t mention \u2014 but could have \u2014 is Red Sox center fielder Ceddanne Rafaela.<\/p>\n

Rafaela is a wizard defensively who covers acres of territory in the outfield; you can also plug him into the infield positions and he\u2019ll be equally as effective.<\/p>\n

And while Rafaela isn\u2019t off to a hot start to the season at the plate, his 2024 rookie numbers suggest that he’ll start mashing as the season goes on. He hit .246\/.274\/.390 last year with 15 home runs, 75 RBI, and 19 stolen bases.<\/p>\n

The Red Sox believe in Rafaela\u2019s long-term potential; it\u2019s why Boston gave the 24-year-old a\u00a0$50 million extension\u00a0last April (per Spotrac).<\/p>\n

Rafaela\u2019s immense talent isn\u2019t problematic for the Red Sox, but something else is \u2014 Boston has an even more talented outfielder than Rafaela waiting in the minors in the form of Major League Baseball\u2019s No. 2 overall prospect, Roman Anthony.<\/p>\n

The buzz around Boston is that Anthony should be promoted within weeks, not months, which places Rafaela in an unfortunate situation.<\/p>\n

Could the Red Sox keep Rafaela and have Alex Cora plug-and-play him somewhere other than the outfield, perhaps as a utility guy who doesn\u2019t play every day? Sure, but keep in mind that Boston also has a logjam in the infield with Anthony\u2019s fellow stud prospect Marcelo Mayer also overdue for a promotion.<\/p>\n

If Rafaela goes to the trade block \u2014 which seems like a likely scenario \u2014 the Mets could benefit, but there will be other suitors in the National League for Rafaela, including\u00a0possibly the Philadelphia Phillies.<\/p>\n

The rumors around Rafaela will only intensify if he starts hitting again.<\/p>\n

After a 2-for-4 day at the plate on Saturday versus the Chicago White Sox that included an RBI triple in the sixth inning off Mart\u00edn P\u00e9rez, Rafaela is slashing .217\/.294\/.261 on the season and might be starting to heat up.<\/p>\n

The Mets are surely watching.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

He’ll have other suitors in the NL if he hits the trade block, however… May 2, 2017; Atlanta, GA, USA; General view of New York Mets helmet… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":40629,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-40626","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb"],"yoast_head":"\nBREAKING: Mets Could Trade For Red Sox $50 Million Outfielder To Fix 'Achilles' Heel' - 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=40626\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"BREAKING: Mets Could Trade For Red Sox $50 Million Outfielder To Fix 'Achilles' Heel' - 24\/7 News America\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"He’ll have other suitors in the NL if he hits the trade block, however… May 2, 2017; 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