The Los Angeles Dodgers could be looking for an upgrade in the outfield around the trade deadline. They could swing a trade for one of the Red Sox’s many young outfielders.
The Red Sox have Jarren Duran, Wilyer Abreu, Ceddanne Rafaela, Masataka Yoshida and Rob Refsnyder currently capable of manning their outfield. However, top prospect Roman Anthony is expected to make his debut soon, complicating the outfield even more. Newsweek’s Drew VonScio suggested the Dodgers could trade for Rafaela to replace Andy Pages.
“Rafela isn’t performing as good as he would like, but his batting average is 71 points higher than (Andy) Pages,” wrote VonScio. “Through 50 at-bats Rafaela has a slash line of .220/.291/.260 which also shows he finds his way on base at a higher rate. Adding Rafaela would give the Dodgers another advantage they currently don’t have with Pages. Rafaela is also capable of playing shortstop and second base, so the Dodgers could get creative with him, Tommy Edman and Mookie Betts as to how they get deployed on a nightly basis.”
The Dodgers’ current second baseman is Tommy Edman. They have Hyeseong Kim in Triple-A and he is swinging the bat well. He could take over at second base and allow Edman to play center field, but the Dodgers may want to keep him in a utility role. Rafaela signed an eight-year, $50 million extension in 2024 and can play at shortstop or in center field.
Adding Rafaela would give the Dodgers the option to move Betts back to the outfield. They could move Michael Conforto to center field, Teoscar Hernández to left field and Betts into right field. If the Dodgers want to keep Betts in the infield, they could slide him back to second base and allow Edman to play center field.
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Regardless of where the Dodgers would play Rafaela, he would remove Pages from the lineup. He also has club control through 2032, so he would be more than a rental. The Red Sox may not want to move him, but they may be forced to in order to find a spot for their top prospect.
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