FORT MYERS, Fla. -- They are brothers in Gold Glove, and the reason is evident in just about every game they play together with the Red Sox.
Inevitably, Ceddanne Rafaela will make a sensational play in center field, perhaps sprawling onto a patch of grass he didn’t seem to have any business getting to in the first place.
Or Wilyer Abreu will go into that deep corner in right field at Fenway and make a snag in front of the short wall before it hits a fan in the chest for a home run, harkening back to the days of Dwight Evans or the more recent ones of Mookie Betts.
It turns out these two glove masters are also brothers off the field. And it’s been that way since before they got to the Major Leagues.
“We're very close,” Abreu said. “We've been playing together since 2022, when I got traded [from the Astros]. So our friendship is really good, we're very close, and I think he is one of my best friends on the field and off the field.”
“We felt that connection right away,” said Rafaela. “And he's a great player, but he's a great human being. Just a great person.”
Combine such athleticism and chemistry and what you get is the impenetrable wall of defense the Red Sox have built in center and right field.
Abreu has won the AL Gold Glove in right in his first two seasons. Rafaela won his first in '25, and the only reason he didn’t go back-to-back like Abreu is because his playing time was split between center and shortstop in '24 following an injury to Trevor Story.
“I think he's the best outfielder in the league, so I'm very happy for him,” said Abreu.
Rafaela was thrilled to win his first Gold Glove the same year Abreu won his second. In fact, Rafaela’s respect for Abreu is so great that he isn’t sure he’ll ever catch him.
“It’s motivation,” Rafaela said. “I’m not trying to catch him. I know he’s going to go three in a row, so he’s always going to be one in front of me, because I feel he’s the best right fielder in the game. He's just motivating me and making me work harder every day."
In any walk of life, the best kind of friends are the ones that push each other to get better and enjoy the whole process of it.
“I think he's one of those friends that when he feels that you're doing something wrong, he's going to tell you,” Rafaela said. “He's going to let you know, ‘Hey, that's not the right way.’ I’ve been learning a lot from him.”
Red Sox outfield instructor Kyle Hudson has the joy and the challenge of working with the dynamic duo every day. The joy is in watching them make plays.
“I see Rafa's ability to react,” said Hudson. “He has a better jump metric than anybody else in the league. And I just think his ability to get off and get moving in somewhat of the right direction puts him in the position to make the play.
“And then Wily, for me, everything about him is solid. He’s very efficient with everything he does. His jumps are good, the routes are good, the jump direction is good, his ability to finish, and then, obviously, his ability to cut distance and maintain his momentum in throwing situations. And then the arm plays as well.”
The challenge is getting both Rafaela and Abreu to a higher level than they are already at. That’s where Hudson comes into play.
“They’re going to keep winning Gold Gloves. They're really good, and they work hard,” said Red Sox manager Alex Cora. “What Huddy does with them, he’s so hard on them. They're good, but there's more. We feel there's more, and we always find something for them to get better at.”
The goal for Abreu is to cut down on the misfielding ground balls, which accounted for four of his five errors last season. With Rafaela, there have been occasions he has missed the cutoff man because he had perhaps too much confidence in throwing out a runner at the plate.
“They’ve got agents, they know the numbers, they go to Baseball Savant, they have all the information,” said Cora. “You try to make them better, but understanding, like, ‘If you do this, your numbers are going to be a lot better, right? And if the number is better, we all benefit from that.'”
The continuity should only help. Abreu isn’t eligible for free agency until the '30 season. Rafaela is signed through '31, and the club holds an option for him in '32. Other Gold Glove aspirants in center and right around the American League are going to have their work cut out for them to supplant Boston’s duo.
“That's the goal that we have,” said Abreu. "If we keep playing together, I know we can win a lot for the team.”