Alex Bregman, Aroldis Chapman and Garrett Crochet will represent the Boston Red Sox at this year's All-Star Game — all three of the 2024-25 offseason additions quickly found their footing in Boston and are well deserving of their selections. But two other Red Sox should have joined them on the American League roster.
Ceddanne Rafaela and Carlos Narváez have posted excellent seasons with the Red Sox so far, and both deserved more recognition than they got in the All-Star race. Both have been placed on The Athletic's All-Star all-snubs team.
Rafaela may be the more egregious of the two Red Sox snubs. The AL's outfield includes Aaron Judge, Riley Greene, and Javier Báez as starters, and Byron Buxton, Steven Kwan and Julio Rodriguez as reserves. Rafaela should have at least ranked among the reserves.
The 24-year-old started off slow at the plate this season but has emerged as one of Boston's top bats in the last month. Rafaela is slashing .306/.342/.630 with eight homers in his last 30 games. His season OPS is up to .763, which is better than Rodriguez's at .695.
Every year, really good players get left out of the MLB All-Star Game.
— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) July 7, 2025
So @chadjennings22 and @SamBlum3 put together their 2025 All-Snubs team.
Do you agree with their picks? pic.twitter.com/pe6H12ttrK
Rafaela's defense is what really sets him apart, though. He's arguably the best defensive outfielder in MLB, with 14 outs above average, the most among center fielders in MLB. He's also one of three players to post more than 14 defensive runs saved so far. His 88th-percentile speed is electric in the pastures and on the base paths.
Rafaela deserved much more attention than he received in the fan vote — he didn't rank among the top 20 AL outfielders in the first round. Narváez also didn't get the respect he deserved in the fan vote, ranking ninth among the top 10 AL catchers in the opening round.
Red Sox Ceddanne Rafaela and Carlos Narváez among AL's biggest All-Star snubs
Narváez has logged an excellent rookie season so far and he's been one of the biggest surprises in the Sox's batting order this season. He's slashing .272/.350/.434 over 68 games this season as Boston's new primary catcher. However, it's hard to compete with starting All-Star Cal Raleigh's 35 home runs and backup Alejandro Kirk's .301/.359/.413 slash line.
Like Rafaela, Narváez also stands out defensively. The 26-year-old ranks in the 98th percentile in both caught stealing above average and blocks above average, which is worlds better than Raleigh's 15th-percentile blocking metric and below league average caught stealing rate. Kirk ranks right alongside Narváez defensively, with the league's best 13 blocks above average and 97th percentile caught stealing above average.
Unfortunately for the Red Sox, defense doesn't garner the same votes as a powerful offense. Regardless of their standing as All-Stars, Rafaela and Narváez deserve credit for the work they've put in this season. Perhaps another season of elite defense and growth will get them the All-Star spots they could've had this year.