Red Sox Dynamic Duo Close To Achieving Feat Not Seen In Boston Since 2018

As the Boston Red Sox hunt for their first playoff berth since 2021, there are also a handful of players chasing individual milestones.

Garrett Crochet faces long odds to win the Cy Young Award, and Roman Anthony probably wasn't going to win Rookie of the Year even before he got hurt. That leaves the Gold Glove conversation as the postseason awards category where the Red Sox can likely make their biggest impact.

Not only do two Red Sox outfielders have great chances at taking home Gold Gloves, but they're on track to achieving a tandem feat that brought Boston some excellent karma the last time it occurred.

Abreu, Rafaela predicted to take home Gold Glove honors

Ceddanne Rafaela has been the best center field defender is baseball this season, leading the position by a wide margin in the American League with 19 outs above average despite playing 24 games at second base. And Wilyer Abreu is dominating AL right fielders with eight outs above average, doubling Lawrence Butler of the Athletics in second place.

With that context in mind, it's no surprise that on Tuesday, MLB.com's Jared Greenspan and Jason Foster predicted that Rafaela and Abreu would win the Gold Gloves at their respective positions -- Abreu for the second year in a row.

"Rafaela has split time between second base and center field, but injuries to Wilyer Abreu and Roman Anthony have shifted the 24-year-old back to center on a full-time basis," wrote Greenspan and Foster. "That's good news for the Red Sox, because he's elite in the outfield. He's been worth +19 Outs Above Average, tied with Pete Crow-Armstrong for the most among outfielders.

"Abreu has made more five-star catches (eight) than anyone not named Pete Crow-Armstrong, an impressive accomplishment for a corner outfielder. Not to mention, his average arm strength is 94.3 mph, good for the 98th percentile."

"Should Abreu and Rafaela each win a Gold Glove, they would become the first pair of Red Sox outfielders to win Gold Gloves in the same season since Mookie Betts and Jackie Bradley Jr. in 2018."

The Red Sox are hoping to get Abreu back from a calf strain during their series against the A's this week, which would be a huge boost both offensively and defensively.

Fenway Park's outfield is particularly tough to handle at both the center and right field positions, and these two do it as well as anyone we've ever seen, with Betts and Bradley giving them the toughest competition.

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