After multiple days in a row out of the lineup, the Boston Red Sox have made the decision to place center fielder Ceddanne Rafaela on the injured list.
Rafaela is battling a tight right quad muscle, which kept him out of each of the first three games in Baltimore against the Orioles. The team had originally hoped to avoid an IL stint, but interim manager Chad Tracy explained Thursday that they would exercise caution with the Gold Glove outfielder and reassess after a few days off.
Tracy spoke about the decision before Sunday’s series finale in Baltimore, saying that Rafaela “actually improved again” in his rehab yesterday. He explained that it would just be better to have the extra man off the bench for the time they will need to build him back up to game speed running next week.
The injury was first spotted when Rafaela was removed in the seventh inning during Wednesday’s loss to the Seattle Mariners, but it is most likely the result of the everyday workload that the 25-year-old shoulders. Rafaela has posted in 135 out of the Sox’ 142 games this year, slashing a career-high .282/.317/.443 with 16 homers, 32 doubles, and 70 RBI.
But as they have started to do with several key players in various positions, the Red Sox will opt to give their All-Star center fielder as much rest as possible. Rafaela was placed on the IL retroactive to Sept. 3 when he first went down, making him eligible to return on Sept. 13 for the series finale against the Kansas City Royals. Tracy said he expects him back after the minimum but wouldn’t rule anything out if there was a setback in his running progression.
Boston had several options available in Triple-A to take his spot, but the decision was ultimately made to bring up outfielder Nate Eaton. Eaton can help replace Rafaela’s great speed and brings the ability to play each outfield position.
Some consideration was likely given to infielders Romy Gonzalez and Anthony Seigler, who have hit well over the last week in Worcester, but with Rafaela most likely to return after the minimum 10 days, Eaton figures in as a more obvious short-term call-up.
Tracy also addressed the possibility of a Kristian Campbell promotion but noted that it didn’t make much sense to disrupt his everyday at-bats to come up and be a bench player. Campbell has had a phenomenal second half of the season, batting .306 with a .921 OPS and six home runs in his last 49 games in Triple-A.
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