MLB Notebook: Rafaela heating up at right time; Teel, Yorke shine in Red Sox’s Spring Breakout Game, Kenley’s back & more

And why not? He’s earned it. It was Rafaela’s fourth home run of the spring (he’s officially hit a team-leading three in Grapefruit League action) and came on the heels of a nifty 8-4 double play he made an inning earlier. It wasn’t an easy catch and throw to make, but you could see his infield instincts in motion as he effortlessly flipped a strike back to second.

It may have come in a meaningless game featuring only prospects in a new MLB spring gimmick, but the fourth-ranked Sox prospect — and the MLB.com No. 76 prospect in all of baseball — appears more and more ready to assume the mantle as Boston’s day one center fielder. 

“The closer to (Opening Day), the more confident I am,” Rafaela told MLB.com. “The work I’ve put in all spring, it shows up so I don’t have to put any pressure on myself. Personally, I can say whatever I want, but it’s their decision. I can’t really control that. I can only control what I can control."

Don’t forget about…

Rafaela wasn’t the only hopeful Sox star of the future with a big day at the plate on Saturday.

Kyle Teel joined the slugfest with an RBI double in the third preceding Rafaela’s blast after hitting an opposite-field single in the first. Teel, the team’s No. 3 prospect and baseball’s No. 40 overall prospect, finished a perfect 2 for 2 at the dish.

(Teel’s standout weekend performance was preceded by Sox legend Jason Varitek telling MLB.com “everything that I’ve heard and seen, he’s stepped right in and shown that he’s Kyle Teel and he’s a really good baseball player.”)

Meanwhile, Nick Yorke followed suit with a 2-for-2 day and an opposite-field RBI knock to open the scoring in the second. The team’s eighth-ranked prospect added an RBI double in the fourth.

Other notable Boston top prospects — namely Marcelo Mayer and Roman Anthony — did not fare nearly as well. Mayer, the team’s No. 1 and league’s No. 15 prospect, finished one strikeout shy of the golden sombrero with three punchouts in an 0-for-4 day. No. 2 team and No. 24 MLB prospect Anthony also went hitless in his two at-bats, but reached twice on a walk and scored a run on Rafaela’s homer.

Miguel Bleis, the team’s No. 5 prospect, was 0 for 1 with a walk, a run and a strikeout while Blaze Jordan went 0 for 3 with a strikeout. 

Guess who’s back?

The Red Sox finally got their closer (for now) back on Friday as Kenley Jansen made his Grapefruit League debut after missing the start of spring with a right lat injury.

The results went as you might expect in what was essentially a late February, early March style outing for the veteran right-hander. Jansen allowed three runs on three hits — including two homers — and had one punch out in two-thirds of an inning. 

The outing went so poorly that Jansen had to break out a Bill Belichick-ism…

“Listen, can’t go off results. It is what it is,” the 36-year-old told reporters. “It’s my first outing, and we’ll sharpen things up as we go.”

Jansen has only a couple more weeks to work himself back into game shape — either for the Red Sox, or for somebody else in the midst of those lingering trade rumors. 

(On the bright side from that Friday game, though, was Rafaela’s competition in center — Jarren Duran — finally coming to life with a 3-for-4, four-RBI day — including a two-run homer. With injuries mounting, I would be surprised if Rafaela and Duran weren’t both in the Opening Day lineup…).

AL rivals closing in on Snell?

Barring a surprise 180 from the front office, Blake Snell won’t be pitching in a Red Sox uniform anytime soon. But Boston may not be able to avoid the former two-time Cy Young Award winner entirely..

Snell reportedly has a “strong preference” to play for the Shohei Ohtani-less Los Angeles Angels, according to ESPN. However, the Houston Astros are reportedly “in serious pursuit” of Snell, per The Athletic, as a potential replacement for injured starter Jose Urquidy. And MLB.com says the New York Yankees, among others, are still showing interest in the 31-year-old southpaw.

How does this impact the Red Sox if Snell is almost certain to wind up pitching anywhere else but Boston? For starters, if Snell indeed lands in the American League, he’ll have the chance to be a thorn in the Red Sox’s side more regularly — a role he’s certainly embraced in the past.

The former Tampa Bay Rays ace owns a lifetime 7-4 record with a 3.24 ERA and 70 strikeouts across 13 career starts versus Boston. He’s been even better statistically at Fenway Park, pitching to a 3.10 ERA with 32 punch-outs in five starts. 

Snell coming off the market could also be the final roadblock holding up fellow free agent left-hander Jordan Montgomery from signing — in Boston or elsewhere. With Snell being the premier pitcher left on the market — and with both being Scott Boras clients — it wouldn’t be surprising to see Boras sit tight while trying to drive up the price on Snell, therefore doing the same for Montgomery on the back end.

Taking a step back, though, it is pretty remarkable to see two of the top five arms on the market entering the offseason still on the market with less than two weeks to go before Opening Day. Hey, maybe they’re like the rest of us wanting to skip the meaningless baseball and get to the real thing…