Red Sox’s Ceddanne Rafaela To Participate In 2026 WBC

Boston Red Sox outfielder Ceddanne Rafaela will participate in the 2026 World Baseball Classic.

The Boston Globe’s Peter Abraham revealed the news in his column on Saturday, sharing that he’ll play for the Netherlands after making his commitment to manager Andruw Jones — his childhood idol — when they met in May.

Rafaela, 24, will make his debut in the international tournament after a breakout campaign thus far in 2025. Rafaela is slashing .217/.313/.475 with 13 home runs, 21 doubles and 46 RBIs entering play on Sunday, making a push for the 2025 All-Star Game after a particularly electric stretch that included a walk-off home run on Friday.

“I’m excited about it,” Rafaela, who hails from Curaçao, said. “When (Jones) asked me, of course I wanted to.”

Rafaela will join the likes San Diego Padres infielder Xander Bogaerts (confirmed) and Atlanta Braves outfielder Jurickson Profar (expected) to commit to the Dutch.

The Kingdom of the Netherlands will open their group play on March 6 against Venezuela, before moving on to face Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic and Israel in Pool D. The 2026 WBC will hold pool play games in Miami, Houston, San Juan, Puerto Rico and Tokyo, Japan, while the quarterfinals will be split between Miami and Houston, and the final round will be played in Miami.