MLB: Red Sox lose All-Star Rafaela to a quad strain

Ten days, backdated to Thursday

The quad won.

Boston placed Ceddanne Rafaela on the 10-day injured list on Sunday with a right quadriceps strain, and backdated the move to Thursday. That last detail matters more than it sounds. The earliest the outfielder can be activated is around Sept. 13.

He first felt it Wednesday, when he came out of the game with soreness and tightness in the leg. Then he sat. Thursday, Friday, and again Saturday, when the Red Sox shut out the Baltimore Orioles 5-0 without him.

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Let’s do it

The year that makes this sting

Rafaela is 25 and he was having the season of his life. A .282 average, 16 home runs, 70 RBIs across 135 games, and a first All-Star selection to go with it.

Set that against the rest of his career and the gap opens up. In four seasons and 471 big-league games he has hit .258 with 49 home runs and 213 RBIs, which means roughly a third of his career power numbers arrived in this single year. The Curacao native signed with Boston as an international free agent back in 2017, a nine-year wait for the All-Star line next to his name.

Eaton takes the spot

Nate Eaton came up from Triple-A Worcester in the corresponding move. The 29-year-old has hit .125 with one home run and five RBIs in 14 games for Boston this season. His Worcester numbers argue for him a little harder: .253, nine home runs, 44 RBIs and 18 stolen bases in 84 games.

He can cover the infield and the outfield, which is most of the reason he is on a plane. Boston now waits on a quad.

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