The Boston Red Sox are a team with a historic legacy. They have had some of the greatest players of all time suit up and play in front of the electric crowds at Fenway Park. Those players have often been players at the top end of the free-agent market, and supplemented well with homegrown superstars. This strategy has generally helped make the team competitive each season, and 2025 should be no exception.

Unfortunately, not every position can be filled by a bonafide superstar (unless the team is the Los Angeles Dodgers). Teams need additional players to fill in the gaps. These players may not grab the headlines every day but they will do their job and leave a positive impact on and off the field. The 2025 Red Sox have these types of players, and three in particular should be dark horses to play a major role in the success of the team.

Ceddanne Rafaela

Ceddanne Rafaela is a trendy pick to improve upon his rookie season. He has always provided exceptional defense at any position, and with the team declaring him the set starting center fielder, he should establish himself as a legitimate gold glove talent. His struggles last year resulted from pitch identification; specifically, Rafaela had trouble making contact, and struck out at a 26% clip while walking only 2.6% of the time, leading to negative offensive value.

This off-season, the Red Sox challenged Rafaela to work specifically on his swing and stance. He took that challenge to heart and made the most drastic grip and stance changes of anyone in the MLB. He also specifically worked on better identifying pitches in the offseason. These changes were evident in Spring Training, where he walked twice as often as he struck out.

Of course, spring training stats can generally be taken with a grain of salt, and it is highly unlikely that Rafaela will continue that pace in the regular season. That said, it is also obvious that he made real changes that are working. If he can carry even a part of that over to the regular season, the Red Sox will be thrilled. That will allow Rafaela to make a positive impact on the offensive side as well as the defensive side.

Wilyer Abreu

The Red Sox acquired Wilyer Abreu in a trade with the Houston Astros for catcher Christian Vazquez at the 2022 trade deadline. He was not well-known at the time, and continues to be vastly underrated. Many analysts and fans predicted, given the readiness of top prospect Roman Anthony, that Abreu would be traded this offseason for pitching. That did not happen.

Much like Rafaela, Abreu is a fantastic defensive outfielder. He won the gold glove at right field as a rookie last season, the first Red Sox rookie to win a gold glove since 1975. Also, similar to Rafaela, Abreu struck out quite a bit. Due to a higher walk rate and better power, however, Abreu batted better than league average, with a 114 wRC+ (Runs per plate appearance with ball park factored in; 100 is considered average).

This meant that Abreu provided three wins above replacement, which is great, especially for a rookie. Where he struggled most, however, was against left-handed pitching. Manager Alex Cora rarely batted him against left-handed pitching, but when he did, the numbers were ugly. This hinders his overall impact, as to be a star, it is expected that the player bats against both types of pitchers.

For Abreu to prove himself against left-handed pitching, he has to face left-handed pitching. If he is given this opportunity, he could make a big impact on both sides of the ball. Assuming Abreu becomes a near-everyday player, his impact on the 2025 Red Sox will be hard to ignore.

Justin Slaten

This offseason, the Red Sox were major players in free agency. Much to the chagrin of the Fenway faithful, however, they did not make a true impact signing for the bullpen. This is where Justin Slaten can come in and make a massive impact for the ball club. Slaten was a Rule 5 draft pick from the Texas Rangers, and he may be one of the better picks in a long time.

Slaten does not necessarily have a collection of elite pitches, but what he does throw is consistent and varied. He has a good fastball that plays up and can touch the high 90s, plus a capable cutter and slider to give batters a different look. He had some hype going into the Rule 5 draft, and that has only grown since his results last year.

Slaten started 2024 as a middle reliever, but as the season went on, he earned Cora’s trust and became a higher-leverage arm for the Red Sox. Posting a 2.91 ERA (earned run average) and a FIP and xFIP (fielder independent pitching metrics) to match it, Slaten was a top performer in that bullpen.

With no clear closer (Aroldis Chapman currently has the role), it is highly plausible that Slaten could get save opportunities for the Red Sox (in fact, he got a chance and converted on opening day). He is a dark-horse candidate to be the most valuable bullpen arm this season.

End Of My Red Sox Rant

The Red Sox have a plethora of names known across the major leagues, from Alex Bregman to Rafael Devers, Garret Crochet to Jarren Duran, and Walker Buehler to Aroldis Chapman. Even the big three prospects are becoming well-known across teams. It is the under-the-radar, dark-horse players, however, that will make or break the Red Sox season. If they perform as they are capable of, the Red Sox will be serious contenders to win it all.

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