MLB Finally Gets It Right: Red Sox's Ceddanne Rafaela Is an All-Star

While only two members of the Boston Red Sox were on the initial American League All-Star Game roster, that number has now doubled.

Ranger Suárez and Aroldis Chapman were the Red Sox's lone representatives when the All-Star Game rosters were announced. Willson Contreras was added to the club when it was announced that Vladimir Guerrero Jr. — who Contreras should've been in over in the first place — would not be participating so he could have time to rest his back.

On Friday, Boston got another worthy candidate to the game as well: center fielder Ceddanne Rafaela.

Boston announced the news on X.

"For the first time in his career, Ceddanne Rafaela is an All-Star," the Red Sox wrote on X.

For the first time in his career, Ceddanne Rafaela is an All-Star! ⭐️ pic.twitter.com/I3KQIpD7Gq
— Red Sox (@RedSox) July 10, 2026

The Red Sox Got Another All-Star

Jul 7, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Boston Red Sox second baseman Anthony Seigler (48) celebrates a home run by center fielder Ceddanne Rafaela (3) against the Chicago White Sox during the second inning at Rate Field. Mandatory Credit: Patrick Gorski-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Like Contreras, Rafaela arguably should've been on the team in the first place. Mike Trout, Riley Greene, and Cody Bellinger are the American League All-Star starters. Trout was having a great season, but was injured for a while before coming off the Injured List this week. Greene and Bellinger are both worthy, but arguably not over Rafaela. Randy Arozarena is a reserve, like Rafaela, and arguably also shouldn't have been in before Rafaela.

Right now, Rafaela is tied for 12th in Major League Baseball with 3.9 wins above replacement. In comparison, Trout is at 2.8, Greene is tied for 106th in baseball at 2.0, Bellinger is at 3.4, and Arozarena is at 3.0. Rafaela is higher than all of them. He even has a higher WAR than Yordan Álvarez (3.8), who is the starting DH for the American League.

So far this season, Rafaela has slashed .283/.330/.438 with a .767 OPS, eight homers, 39 RBIs, 12 stolen bases, 21 doubles, three triples, and 39 runs scored. On top of this, he's currently fourth in the league with 12 outs above average.

From a numbers perspective, Rafaela has done enough to be in this conversation. The only thing that was against him was the fact that Boston was so bad across the first few months of the season that it was difficult to make the case for the team to have even more All-Stars.

The tide has turned and Boston has turned its season around in a major way. Now, Rafaela is getting rewarded for his solid play all season. Both Aaron Judge and Byron Buxton will not play in the All-Star Game due to injuries and this opened the door for Rafaela and the league got it right giving him a shot.

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