Red Sox Predicted To Bench $50 Million 'Super-Utility' In Favor Of Roman Anthony

A decision is coming soon enough...

Feb 18, 2025; Lee County, FL, USA; Boston Red Sox outfielder Roman Anthony (48) participates in media day at JetBlue Park at Fenway South. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images / Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

Whether it's next week, in a month, or sometime early this summer, the Boston Red Sox know Roman Anthony is coming.

The consensus number-one position player prospect in baseball, Anthony is a 20-year-old outfielder with one of the sweetest swings around. There's no doubt he can become a franchise cornerstone for the Red Sox down the road, but the main question now is how soon he'll get the chance.

The issue at the moment is that the Red Sox have three starting outfielders they like for various reasons. Jarren Duran was an All-Star last season, so he's not going anywhere. That leaves Ceddanne Rafaela and Wilyer Abreu as the two potential casualties to make room for Anthony.

Rafaela got a $50 million contract extension last spring, and has consistently shown Gold Glove capabilities in center field. But Abreu has been on fire at the plate to start the season after outhitting Rafaela and winning a Gold Glove of his own as a rookie in 2024.

On Friday, Scott Odoardi of Just Baseball predicted that the Red Sox would eventually shift Rafaela to a "super-utility" role, stripping him of his full-time starting spot and clearing a path for Anthony to join the Red Sox at the big-league level.

"At some point, a decision will have to be made," Odoardi wrote. "The most realistic option is Rafaela gets relegated to a super utility role, but can you justify moving a guy to the bench one year into an eight-year, $50 million deal? I think you have to, especially if he continues to put up poor at-bats.

"It’s unfortunate because Rafaela is such an exciting player to watch when he’s clicking, but Roman Anthony is just too talented to sit in Triple-A for much longer."

So far this season, Rafaela is slashing .205/.279/.205 across 12 games, good for a 42 OPS+. He's improved his contact rate from last season, but he's still chasing a lot and hasn't shown any power yet, though it's still early.

It's already tough for the Red Sox to find playing time for their bench players, and if Rafaela were added to that mix, it's hard to see how David Hamilton and Romy González would get more than a couple at-bats per week.

The Red Sox are fortunate to be in the position to make this decision, and Anthony likely raises the ceiling of an already exciting team. But having to bench Rafaela just a year after paying him would be a very tough pill to swallow.

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