BOSTON -- When Alex Cora mentions a Red Sox rookie being a future Gold Glove Award winner, Ceddanne Rafaela instantly comes to mind.
But when that topic came up Tuesday prior to the Red Sox facing the Baltimore Orioles at Fenway Park, Cora wasn't talking about Rafaela.
Instead, Cora passed the heap of praise onto fellow Red Sox rookie Wilyer Abreu, who has turned in an impressive first full season in the majors. And Cora believes this season is just a building block for Abreu to produce even more going forward.
"I think he's going to be a guy that's going to hit for power, he can steal bases and probably win a Gold Glove in right field," Cora said.
The Gold Glove part might be a bit surprising when it comes to Abreu. He wasn't a heralded defensive player like Rafaela when he made his way through the Red Sox farm system after Boston acquired him at the 2022 trade deadline from the Houston Astros as part of the deal for Christian Vázquez.
But the 25-year-old has made a handful of sensational grabs in right field and owns nine defensive runs saved, which is just one less than Rafaela when he plays in the outfield.
Abreu's bat hasn't lagged behind, either. He's hitting a solid .267 with 15 home runs, 55 RBIs and seven stolen bases to make his transition to the big leagues look fairly seamless.
"Of all the guys that have been around here the last few years with no experience, the gap wasn't that big for him," Cora said. "He produced from the get-go last year. Obviously early in the season he didn't play and spring training was bad from the swings and misses. But when we had the opportunity to play him, he did an amazing job."
Abreu did have some minor hiccups this season after finding his spot in the regular outfield rotation. He slipped going into the dugout between innings during a game in early June and suffered an ankle injury which caused him to miss three weeks. Facing lefties hasn't gone well with Abreu hitting just .177 on the season against southpaws.
But the Red Sox believe Abreu not only will improve against left-handed pitchers, but improve in all areas as he solidifies his spot as part of the team's core.
"He's a good all-around player that is going to get better," Cora said. "I think the next step is obviously hitting lefties and I think he will. He's compact, he's short to the ball, he can go the other way. More pull-oriented this year than last year, the small sample size that he was here. Kind of like Jarren (Duran), kind of like Raffy (Devers), they learned how to shoot the ball here the other way. Obviously with his skills, dominating the strike zone, it's something that's going to help him."
