Role
Ceddanne Rafaela is the center fielder, and nobody else is close. He started 133 games there in 2026, made his first All-Star team, and is a Gold Glove finalist again after winning the award in 2025. The only real interruption was a right quad strain that cost him most of September. The job is his for 2027 and well beyond, since his eight-year, $50 million extension runs through 2031 with a club option for 2032 (per MLB.com).
Outlook
The glove is elite. MLB.com's finalist writeup credited him with +17 Outs Above Average and 10 five-star catches, the most among qualified outfielders. The bat looked better than ever on the surface: .285/.321/.444 with 16 homers and 32 doubles. Statcast doesn't buy all of it. His expected average was .249 and his expected slugging .362, and his average exit velocity sat in the 10th percentile. He also drew 22 walks in 576 plate appearances, and his chase rate ranked in the 1st percentile.
Our take: the .336 average on balls in play is doing a lot of the lifting, so expect fewer hits to fall in 2027. That's fine. A center fielder this good only needs to hit .260 with 15 homers to be one of the most valuable players on the roster, and we think that's about where he lands.