The Red Sox have selected the contracts of prospects Ceddanne Rafaela, Brandon Walter, Chris Murphy, David Hamilton and Wilyer Abreu ahead of the Rule 5 draft deadline, according to Christopher Smith of Masslive.com. They’ve also designated Jake Reed and Caleb Hamilton for assignment per Alex Speier of the Boston Globe.
Of the prospects called up, Rafaela is the most notable. He ranks as Boston’s third best prospect per MLB.com’s ratings. An infielder early on, Boston played him regularly in center field this season, where he hit .278/.324/500 with 12 home runs at Double-A. The promotion came after he torched High-A pitching earlier in the season to the tune of a .330/.368/.594 line. Rafaela doesn’t walk much, but there’s plenty of power there and if his development continues he could be knocking on the door in Boston late next season.
Walter also features on MLB.com’s top ten Boston prospects after a strong 2022. In nine starts at Double-A, he had a 2.88 ERA, walking just three batters in 50 innings while striking out 68. He had two unsuccessful starts at Triple-A, but should start there in 2023 with a view to staking a claim for a major league debut. Murphy is the other pitcher added by the Red Sox. He struggled in 15 starts at Triple-A in 2022 (5.50 ERA), but was strong in Double-A to begin the season (2.58 ERA in 13 starts).
Abreu came across in the Christian Vazquez trade from Houston. The outfielder hit .247/.399/.435 across both team’s Double-A affiliates with 19 home runs. Hamilton also spent the entire year at Double-A, slashing .251/.338/.402 with 12 home runs in 119 games while splitting time between second base and shortstop. Neither player has made it to the Triple-A level yet.
Reed was plucked off waivers by the Red Sox in October, so never actually pitched for them. He appeared in ten games for the Mets, Dodgers and Orioles in 2022, throwing 11 innings of 7.36 ERA ball. Hamilton was taken off waivers just a couple of days prior, so also never suited up for the Red Sox. He appeared in 22 games for the Twins, picking up just one hit in 23 plate appearances. He went better at Triple-A, where had a .233/.367/.442 line with 11 home runs in 62 games.
Take Abreu, Anderson, Lugo,Swanson and Confordo
Boy do I have some news for you about Tyler Anderson…
Hahahahahahahaha
Lmao
Abreu is a bit of a surprise, even though he was acquired in the Vazquez trade. Didn’t seem to be a major risk to be drafted. Industry might think there is more in the tank.
He was a consensus keeper at SoxProspects.com. Ranked 23rd in wRC+ out of all AA hitters age 23 or younger and is a solid defender in RF … that’s generally good enough to get you protected.
OTOH, Ward was also a consensus keeper … given the roster crunch, it may well be a surprise that they used the last spot on Abreu rather than Ward.
I wonder if Andrew Politi and maybe Thad Ward each get drafted.
Ward surprised me. I feel he could be taken for as bullpen piece. Same goes for Politi, but I feel he has a lot less potential, and I’d be fine losing him.
Not protecting Ward a mistake. My 2c is he’s now a goner. not DFA’ing Brasier, who has lost 3 ticks+ off his FB the last several years a mistake, not to mention why, oh why protect david hamilton who can do 1 thing well.. Steal bases.
Can’t steal 1st and he cannot hit.
Hi John. Hamilton finished the season hitting very well. Did Ward’s fastball come back after TJ surgery?
I believe Ward was injured during Arizona Fall League, so that may be the reason the Red Sox FO may believe he will not be taken.
He did get injured how bad it is we don’t know he pitched twice I think in the AFL. He pitched well in those 2 starts I’m surprised he wasn’t protected.
Bruin – I am too. Multiple Red Sox sites had Thaddeus Ward protected as he is not that far from MLB ready. Most of the A- and A+ like Eddison Paulino are very good players, but too far away from MLB ready to be picked.
Ward turns age 26 in January, which may be a consideration.
Bloom holds on to completed free agent signings and other transactions, and then reports them all at the same time. I wonder if Ward is in a trade that the teams have agree not to announce yet. It would not be the first time….
Thinking about Ward more…When it comes to the last couple of 40 man roster spots early in the offseason, it may be better to subject someone you value more to the Rule 5 draft than add him to the 40 man roster. It seems to not make sense at first, but the last couple of players added to the 40 man roster to fill it up will probably be DFA’d when new players are added in the offseason. Once you are DFA’d and someone claims you, you are gone and not easily returned. On the other hand, if you are selected in the Rule 5 draft, you are not 100% gone because the other team may not be able to keep you on the 26 man roster for a whole season and you are easily returned. So, the Red Sox may value Ward more than say Darwinzon Hernandez. Darwinzon will be DFA’d when the Red Sox sign a relief pitcher and add him to the 40 man roster…so Darwinzon is gone, but Ward still has a chance to return from the team that took him in the Rule 5 draft. At least Ward has an easier path to return than Darwinzon who was DFA’d. Darwinzon will need to be DFA’d again and pass through waivers in order to return to the Red Sox. Just a thought and it only applies to the last couple of players added to fill up the the 40 man roster early in the offseason.
Very nice. It’s an excellent day for me when I read things I never thought of before.
Thanks Joe. A shorter way to say it may be: It is better to be subjected to the Rule 5 draft than to be added to the 40 man roster only to be quickly DFA’d.
Being injured makes it even easier, for a team, to make a claim on. All he has to do is make the opening day roster, then move Ward to the IL for as long as he’s hurt. The team can send him for ‘rehabs’ in the minors. Its basically an extra player you only partially have to use a roster spot for.
He still has a high ceiling. I’d have protected him over Brasier.
Jacob Wallace will be drafted
I feel like the failure to protect Thaddeus Ward is a mistake the same way the NYY failure to protect Garret Whitlock was a mistake. Wilyer Abreu did not seem to urgently require a 40-man slot, esp. since it is very unlikely he could stick on another team’s 26-man at this point in his career, so I think his inclusion is just another in-house endorsement of the Vasquez trade to Houston.
Pure guess is that it was based on age. There is about a 2.5 year difference between the two.
They had 9 to protect. Selected 5, dfa 2. What about the other 2?
What 2 are you talking about? Valdez was protected the other day. The only head-scratcher is Thaddeus Ward who was not protected. He is coming back from TJ surgery and the Red Sox have seen a lot of him this year including in the Arizona Fall League. They must have seen something they didn’t like or they highly doubt he will last a year in a major league bullpen. If a Rule 5 pick doesn’t last a year on the major league team that selected him, he can go back to his original team if they still want him.
Missing the key D. Hamilton stat: 70 SB, 8 CS. Given the rule change, he’s a near-lock to be on the Sox MLB September roster.
I see Abreu and Hamilton as a way of Bloom saving face on his trades for Vasquez and Renfroe. My issue is what if a guy exposed to the draft is taken so these 2 trade mistakes could be protected?
I doubt it. As Bloom has packed up the system with more prospects, we knew it would get to the point where some of the better prospects would be exposed.
But while I appreciate that Ward has some talent, is there anything to dislike about Abreu and Hamilton?
Abreu 19 HRs and a 153/114 K/W in AA in 457 ABs
Hamilton 12 HRs and a 119/56 K/W in AA in 463 ABs, with a 78/8 SB/CS
I could see Ward being in our BP, but I can easily see Abreu and Hamilton being a #4 OF and UIF for us.
Again, I am curious about the objection to Abreu and Hamilton.
I wanna know who Ryan Braiser has dirt on….
I wanna know who looks at ERA instead of WHIP for relief pitchers.
I wanna know who looks at ERA as opposed to WHIP for relief pitchers. Brasier has good stuff, he doesn’t cost much and every year his WHIP is average and above.
His FIP was 3.61, which is in line with his career WIP, he had a career best K/W, and he finished strongly. I’d bet on Brasier outperforming his contract.