In recent years, the Boston Red Sox and Craig Breslow have adopted a bold strategy with their young players, most of them homegrown, by extending them early into their contracts to get the best possible value in the later years of their careers. There's some risk involved, as getting the best possible price for a potential future star means extending them young, without seeing a lot of what they have to offer in the majors.
The Red Sox have had mixed results with this strategy. Garrett Crochet has missed all but six starts in the first season of his extension, Brayan Bello lost his rotation spot after a few bad blowups and Kristian Campbell has been in Triple-A since June 20, 2025. It's far too early to reach any conclusions about Roman Anthony, though it was a smart move to extend the young star early.
But it isn't hard to conclude that the Red Sox's smartest early extension (so far) is Ceddanne Rafaela's. The outfielder has gone from a free-swinging young player looking for his offensive groove to an All-Star in just one season.
Rafaela's calling card is still his spectacular defense — he and Wilyer Abreu are locks for Gold Gloves in Boston's outfield as long as they're playing next to each other. Rafaela could make routine plays in his sleep and makes the most difficult catches look easy and graceful. Few players make their job look as effortless as he does. He's posted 17 defensive runs saved and 14 outs above average in center field this season, good for 98th percentile fielding run value.
Craig Breslow's best move might be Ceddanne Rafaela's team-friendly extension with the Red Sox
Now, Rafaela's offense is catching up to his insane fielding skills. He's slashing .284/.321/.463 over 122 games this season. His 137 hits are tied for 10th-most in the league and his 32 doubles are the second-most. His 16 home runs, the fourth-most on the Red Sox, tie his career high from last season.
The offensive progress Rafaela has made in one year is enough to earn him his first All-Star nomination, and if he keeps improving, it certainly won't be his last. His style of play is made for the big moment on both sides of the ball, enough to make anyone believe in the "clutch gene." Throw Rafaela in a game-saving or game-winning situation and there's a high chance he'll deliver.
The Red Sox get all that — league-leading offense, elite, otherworldly defense and clutch performances — until after the 2032 season for $6.25 million average annual value. Within the next few years, Rafaela could be one of the league's biggest stars on an incredibly team-friendly deal that will allow Boston to be more flexible with its payroll to build a dominant team around him. For that, Breslow deserves much credit.
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