BOSTON — The
Red Sox
made two big bets in the weeks leading up to Opening Day last year. They gave
Brayan Bello a six-year, $55 million contract extension
, then weeks later, handed Ceddanne Rafaela an eight-year, $50 million deal.
Those deals — given to Bello after just 41 major league outings and Rafaela after just 28 big league
games
— aren’t the types of deals that’ll ever break the bank for a big-market team like the Red Sox. But they were sizable upside plays to lock up two young players not because of what they had accomplished, but because of what they might.
The early returns were not good. Bello took a step back in 2024, laboring to a 4.49 ERA in 162 ⅓ innings over 30 starts. Rafaela, in his first full year, collapsed offensively down the stretch and while showing flashes of elite play in center field, finished with a .664 OPS and 151-to-15 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 152 games.
For a moment, it looked like the Red Sox might have extended both too early. The first half of 2025, however, has erased those concerns. Rafaela, with a June/July hot streak that has seen him become one of the best hitters in all of baseball, has propelled Boston’s improved play as of late. And Bello, after a slow start, has turned in the most dominant stretch of his young career.
Both breakout stars were key Sunday as Bello went 6 ⅓ strong innings and Rafaela homered again in a 4-1 win that extended the Sox’ winning streak to 10
.
“Both of them are doing an amazing job and they’re still kids,” said manager Alex Cora. “They enjoy the game, they enjoy to play here and I think they’re doing everything possible for us to play in October.”
Bello and Rafaela — who are 16 months apart — signed with the Red Sox in the same international signing cycle back in 2017. Neither were highly touted prospects as Rafaela, out of Curacao, signed for $10,000 and Bello, out of the Dominican Republic, got just a $28,000 bonus. The two rose up prospect charts on similar tracks before debuting at a young age. Bello was 23 when the Red Sox called him up to fortify an injury-ravaged rotation in July 2022. Rafaela was about to turn the same age when he debuted in August 2023. It didn’t take long for the growing pains to ensue. But the Red Sox kept viewing both players as big parts of their future, even if highly-touted prospects like Roman Anthony and Marcelo Mayer were stealing headlines.
“They got here early,” said manager Alex Cora. “We made that decision and they learned the hard way. Where we were as an organization, it made sense. Instead of learning at Triple-A or Double-A, learning here at the big league level. We were going to take our punches… For them to get reps at this level, it meant a lot.”
On Sunday, with a four-game sweep of the Rays in reach, Bello out-dueled solid righty Ryan Pepiot. He worked around six hits to allow just one run while striking out five batters and walked off to an ovation from the Fenway faithful. After failing to get through five innings in five straight May outings, he hit another gear when the calendar turned to June and
owns a 2.61 ERA (and .212 opponent batting average) in 51 ⅔ innings in eight games (seven starts) since June 3
.
“The kid today, that was electric… He’s grown so much in the last three years. Now he’s striking people out, controlling the running game,” said Cora. “It was good to see the ovation, too. I told him, ‘Hey, get ready and enjoy it.’”
Bello’s line would have looked a little bit worse without the keen instincts of Rafaela in center field. In the third inning, with the game tied, 0-0, Yandy Díaz looped a soft liner into center and Rafaela, coming in, barely missed it on a diving attempt. The speedy Chandler Simpson would have easily scored the game’s first run but thought Rafaela caught it and slowed up. Rafaela had the wherewithal to throw to third and nab Jonathan Aranda for the inning’s third out before Simpson crossed the plate. It stayed 0-0.
“I’ve never seen anything like that,” said Cora. “Their guy slowed down, but for him to have the presence of mind to get the ball and throw to third base, it was amazing.”
Rafaela then did what he has done so often for the Red Sox in recent weeks, launching a two-run homer off Pepiot to extend a one-run lead to three.
He extended his hitting streak to 10 games and is hitting .421 with a 1.410 OPS, five homers, six doubles and 15 RBIs over that stretch
.
“He’s a pleasure to watch,” said shortstop Trevor Story. “He can do everything on the baseball field. He can run, he can hit, he can throw. It feels like he can play any position at an elite level. His at-bats are incredible. He’s coming up with really clutch hits and controlling the zone, doing his thing and he has made a lot of progress there.
“Like I tell him, he’s my favorite player. He’s my favorite player to watch. He’s just electric. He brings a lot to our team, obviously, and he’s been on a heater.”
Only time will tell how the extensions of Bello (controlled through 2030) and Rafaela (through 2032) will look when they’re done. For now, though, the Red Sox look like they might have gotten a couple of bargains.
“I’m not surprised,” Bello said of his teammate. “I know what he’s capable of. I’ve been playing with him since we were rookies. We signed together so I know what type of player he is. He can hit, he can field, he can play all around, so I’m not surprised about the stretch he’s having right now.”
