Ceddanne Rafaela, Carlos Narváez, Wilyer Abreu named Gold Glove finalists as Cora’s staff draws outside interest; Nationals poach Red Sox scouting director for assistant GM job

The finalists for this year’s Rawlings Gold Glove awards were announced on Wednesday morning, and three Red Sox players will be among those vying for new hardware for their trophy cases.

Rookie catcher Carlos Narváez and outfielders Ceddanne Rafaela and Wilyer Abreu were each named Gold Glove Award finalists.

All three players being nominated for a Gold Glove is a testament to Boston’s renewed focus on athleticism over the last couple of seasons.

Rafaela’s highlight-reel range in center field, Abreu’s rocket arm in right, and Narváez’s steady presence behind the plate have anchored a defensive unit that struggled as a whole, but these three players shone at their positions.

Abreu, who won a Gold Glove for the first time last season, finished second among American League right fielders in defensive runs saved with 15. García led all right fielders with +16 DRS, while Smith, in his rookie campaign, had +12 DRS. Abreu and Padres’ Fernando Tatis also tied for second in OAA, with +8 (behind only Corbin Carroll’s +9).

The Sox’ Abreu is looking to claim his second straight award, having only started 104 games in right field, missing time due to injury down the stretch. The other finalists for the position are the Rangers’ Adolis García and the Astros’ rookie Cam Smith.

Rafaela has turned into one of the game’s premier defenders in center field, finishing second among all MLB outfielders in DRS with 20, trailing only Cleveland’s Steven Kwan. He is up against the Royals’ Kyle Isbel and Mariners’ Julio Rodriguez. His 20 defensive runs saved ranked ahead of Isbel and Rodriguez, and his 22 outs above average was higher than Isbel’s 12 and Rodriguez’s 10.

Rafaela has electrified social media feeds with his highlight reel plays, including robbing Carroll of a home run when the Sox were in Arizona this season. 

The Sox’ outfielder has come up in the clutch numerous times this season, both offensively and defensively, and should be the favorite to win the award.

Narváez’s fellow finalists are Alejandro Kirk of the Blue Jays and Dillon Dingler of the Tigers.

He finished sixth in baseball among all catchers with 10 DRS; Narváez also led the majors with 32 runners caught stealing. He threw out 29.9% of runners (32 of 107); the league average was 21.5%. Despite being a finalist for the award, Narváez led the American League with nine errors and nine passed balls.

Narváez also finished among the top 20% in four Statcast categories—Blocks Above Average (+6, 88th percentile), Caught Stealing Above Average (+9, 98th), Framing (+5, 85th), and Pop Time (1.92 seconds, 80th).

If he is going to capture his first Gold Glove, Narváez will face tough competition from Kirk, who is one of baseball’s most elite catchers. The 26-year-old ranked in the 99th percentile in fielding run value (22). He also finished tied for third in defensive runs saved (nine) among big-league catchers, behind Narváez (10) and Patrick Bailey (19).

Dingler also ranked in the 95th percentile for blocks above average, the 91st percentile for framing, and the 85th percentile for caught stealing above average. He had a plus-6 defensive runs saved, ranked third among AL catchers, and never allowed a passed ball this season.

TWINS WANT TO SPEAK WITH CORA'S TOP LIEUTENANT 

The Minnesota Twins are expected to request permission from the Boston Red Sox to interview bench coach Ramón Vázquez for their vacant managerial opening, according to the New York Post’s Jon Heyman.

The Twins are in the market for a new manager after parting ways with Woonsocket, Rhode Island native, Rocco Baldelli. He was dismissed after the Twins finished with a 70-92 record, which was the second-fewest wins in the American League and the fourth-fewest in all of baseball. While leading the Twins, Baldelli recorded the third-most wins in franchise history with a record of 527-505 (.511).

Vazquez, 49, has been with the Red Sox organization since 2018 and assumed a handful of different roles with the team before he was promoted to bench coach in 2022.

He served as acting manager for one game back in May, while Alex Cora was absent for his daughter’s graduation. The Sox won that game, defeating the Mets, 3-1, behind a stellar performance from the bullpen and strong defense. The next night, he extended his managerial career after Cora and Walker Buehler were ejected in the third inning of a 2-0 win over the Mets.

Aside from the fill-in game for Cora, Vazquez managed one season in Single-A when he was working for the Astros organization.

Minnesota is one of eight teams looking for a new manager following a disappointing season where they traded a chunk of their big league roster for controllable prospects.

Whoever the Twins hire will theoretically be overseeing a rebuild, particularly due to the Pohland family initially considering selling the team. They’ve since changed the course and brought in minority investors to pay down significant debt the team has accrued.

It’s not uncommon for teams to cast a wide net in their managerial search. If Vazquez were to get hired by the Twins, it would leave a hole on the bench for Boston.

The Twins have significant work to do to improve the big league on-field product. Catcher Ryan Jeffers is heading into his final season of arbitration control and is a trade candidate.

Starting pitcher Joe Ryan, whom the Red Sox reportedly explored during the MLB trade deadline, has two years of arbitration remaining and is almost certain to be traded in the winter. Boston should be circling the waters in an attempt to land Ryan, who would immediately improve the Sox’ rotation, slotting into the No. 2 spot behind left-handed ace and Cy Young candidate Garrett Crochet.

INTERNAL OPTION?

If the Red Sox are looking to make an addition to their coaching staff, either to replace Vazquez if he were to get a managerial job or in general, they have internal options.

WooSox manager Chad Tracy could be an intriguing candidate for bench coach after managing Worcester for the last four years. Tracy, the son of former big league skipper Jim Tracy, has aspirations of being an MLB manager someday and could continue to ascend up the ladder by becoming Cora’s bench coach.

Tracy, a former catcher who was drafted by the Rangers in the third round back in 2006, saw his career get derailed by a rotator cuff injury, making it as high as Triple-A before switching gears and becoming a coach. Before becoming a minor league field coordinator, he managed in the Angels organization. That opportunity led him to Worcester, where he’s been a constant fixture in the dugout the last four seasons.

If the Sox were to promote Tracy to the big league roster, he would be following a similar path as Torey Lovullo, who managed the PawSox in 2010. A year later, he became the Sox’ bench coach before filling in for John Farrell when he underwent cancer treatment in 2015. Lovullo has managed the Diamondbacks since 2017.

TOBONI POACHES DEVIN PEARSON

Last month, Boston lost assistant general manager Paul Toboni to the Nationals, who appointed him as the head of their baseball operations. The Sox will lose another key member of their organization, as the team’s director of amateur scouting, Devin Pearson, is joining Toboni in Washington as an assistant general manager.

Pearson had been with the Red Sox since 2017, rising quickly through the organization, working closely with Toboni during the Sox’ drafts. He was the assistant director of scouting under Toboni for the drafts; the club brought in Marcelo Mayer, Roman Anthony, Kyle Teel, Kristian Campbell, Connelly Early, and Payton Tolle.

Boston will promote Jake Bruml as their new director of scouting. He has been with the organization since 2019 and has been in various front office leadership roles for the Red Sox. Bruml has worked closely with Pearson the last few seasons as the Red Sox transition to a new voice to lead their scouting department.

Pearson, 31, is a big-time hire for the Nationals and could replicate many of the duties Toboni was responsible for while working in Boston. Given their relationship, if the Nationals go without a general manager in the short term, he could be tabbed for that role in the future.