Ceddanne Rafaela will play alongside a former Boston Red Sox mainstay in the World Baseball Classic.
Rafaela is among the 14 Red Sox players participating in the WBC. The center fielder will represent the Netherlands on a roster also featuring Xander Bogaerts.
Per MLB.com's Ian Browne, Rafaela cited his desire to team with Bogaerts as a main motivator for playing in the global tournament.
"I think that's something special," Rafaela said. "It’s something I've looked forward to since I didn't play in (the WBC) in ’23, because I wanted to play with Xander. I'd say that’s the main reason I'm going to be there is because I was looking (forward) up to playing with him when he was (with Boston), but things didn't go that way."
Bogaerts spent the first decade of his career in Boston, collecting 1,410 hits and two World Series rings. The four-time All-Star signed an 11-year, $280 million deal with the San Diego Padres right before Rafaela reached the majors in 2023.
Rafaela narrowly missed the chance to team with Bogaerts in Boston. He filled the Aruba native's long-running shortstop role for part of 2024 before focusing on center field, where he won a Gold Glove Award last season.
They're now two of the most notable major leaguers on a Netherlands squad also featuring former Red Sox closer Kenley Jansen. Ozzie Albies, Jurickson Profar, Didi Gregorius and Chadwick Tromp give the team more MLB experience.
The Netherlands begins WBC pool play against Venezuela at Miami's LoanDepot Park on Friday, March 6.