The injury woes continued for the Boston Red Sox on Sunday afternoon as the team placed All-Star center fielder Ceddanne Rafaela on the 10-day injured list with a right quad strain ahead of the team’s series finale win in Baltimore. The move to place the 25-year-old on the injured list comes after he missed the first three games of the Red Sox series while managing the injury. 

Rafaela is just the latest of Boston’s key contributors to land on the injured list as the team continues to manage the bumps and bruises associated with the grind of the regular season, joining Willson Contreras, Tyron Guerrero, Justin Slaten and Masataka Yoshida as Red Sox players currently on the shelf. Rafaela is amidst a career year, hitting .282/.317/.443/.760, while tying a career high in home runs with 16, while also continuing to play platinum-glove defense in center field. He also earned his first career All-Star nod. 

With Rafaela on the shelf for at least 10 days, these players have the most pressure on them to step up in his absence: 

As he has in each of the first four games of Rafaela’s absence, White figures to handle centerfield duties for the remainder of the All-Star’s stint on the injured list. As interim manager Chad Tracy has said a number of times since acquiring the veteran outfielder ahead of the trade deadline, White excels defensively, meaning there will not be much of a drop-off from Rafaela’s incredible defense in center field. While he has delivered key hits in each of the Red Sox' last two wins against Baltimore, the 32-year-old leaves something to be desired at the plate, sporting a career slash line of .216/.272/.356/.628. That leaves Rafaela’s offensive impact to be picked up by the rest of the players still to be mentioned. 

There may not be a more disappointing player in 2026 than Duran. In 135 games in 2026, Duran is hitting just .202/.258/.356/.614, ranking among the 10 worst qualified hitters in baseball in batting average, on-base percentage and weighted runs created plus (wRC+).  It had briefly appeared as if Duran had found something at the plate, hitting .265/.315/.518/.833 in his first 23 games in August. However, he’s come back down to earth, going just 3-for-33 in nine games since then. 

With White not known for his offensive prowess, the pressure will be on Duran to recapture his early August form and get going at the plate, replacing Rafaela’s production. 

The 22-year-old former No. 1 prospect in the sport has been everything the Red Sox could have asked for, and then some, since returning from the injured list on Aug. 30, hitting .323/.382/.645/1.028 with two home runs and two RBI in seven games. 

While Anthony’s return was a welcome one for the Boston offense, there wasn’t the same pressure on him to carry the team as there was at the beginning of the season. Now, with both Rafaela and Contreras out of the lineup for the time being, that pressure is back on the 22-year-old's shoulders to be the spark plug of the Red Sox lineup. 

After completing the four-game sweep in Baltimore, the Red Sox will return home for a six-game homestand that gets underway with a Labor Day matinee on Monday afternoon as the Sox welcome the Los Angeles Angels for a three-game set. Grayson Rodriguez (4-6, 6.03 ERA) will get the start for the Angels, while the Red Sox have not yet officially named a starter; Brayan Bello is expected to work in either a bulk relief role or as a traditional starter. First pitch from Fenway is set for 1:35 p.m. ET.