Red Sox place All-Star Rafaela on 10-day IL on September 6

The Boston Red Sox placed All-Star center fielder Ceddanne Rafaela on the 10-day injured list on September 6 with a right quadriceps strain, retroactive to September 4, according to MLB.com. The retroactive date makes him eligible to return on September 13, the finale of a six-game homestand against the Royals.

Rafaela was out of the lineup September 3-5 after exiting Boston's game on September 2 with soreness and tightness in his quad. Utility player Nate Eaton was recalled from Triple-A Worcester to fill Rafaela's spot on the roster.

Interim manager Chad Tracy said: "That's my expectation" regarding Rafaela returning when first eligible. However, Tracy cautioned about the recovery process: "He has to go through running stuff next week, and you don't know how he's going to respond to that." He added: "But the way he's progressing right now, that's my expectation. We have to see how everything goes with the running. But we just got past the point of being able to wait [for him], and not have an extra player here for another four games or so."

Rafaela, 25 years old, posted a .282 batting average with 32 doubles, three triples, 16 home runs, 70 RBIs, 67 runs and a .760 OPS in 135 games this season, according to MLB.com. He made 130 starts in center field and was named an All-Star for the first time this season.

The IL move comes as the Red Sox also manage catcher Willson Contreras, who was placed on the 10-day injured list on September 2 with a left hamstring strain. Tracy acknowledged the broader challenge of managing injuries down the stretch: "Big picture, you'd like to not deal with it at all and have everybody healthy and good. But there are things that come up in the season—and a lot of times they come up in August, late August or early September—and you can't really control it." He said the team is trying to "do your due diligence with what's going on with certain guys. Even though it's an IL stint, if you see things that feel like, 'OK, this feels like it's a small thing, let's try to keep it a small thing and not turn it into pushing [the player].' And then we've lost the player for the rest of the year."

Tracey also discussed prospect Kristian Campbell, who has a .921 OPS in his last 49 games at Worcester entering Sunday, according to MLB.com. The Red Sox gave Campbell an eight-year, $60 million contract extension last April, and he was the team's Opening Day second baseman. He struggled mightily the first three months of this season at Triple-A after lowering his hands in the offseason but moved his back to the previous higher hand position, with early returns described as encouraging by Tracy. Tracy said regarding Campbell: "There's always consideration for guys that are doing well, but you also have to consider the role. Like, what's the role? What's currently on the roster? Where are the at-bats?"