After four seasons in which he emerged as a veteran leader and key bench player for the Red Sox, Rob Refsnyder’s time in Boston is over.
Refsnyder has signed a one-year contract with the Mariners, the club announced. According to a major league source, the deal will pay Refsnyder a base salary of $6.25 million in 2026. It also includes $250,000 in incentives.
Refsnyder, who turns 35 in May, was a journeyman utility player when he signed with the Red Sox as a minor league free agent in December 2021. Over the last four seasons, he found a home in Boston, where he mashed left-handed pitching and became an important clubhouse voice. Along with Trevor Story and Alex Bregman, Refsnyder helped form a core of older position players who helped the Sox navigate treacherous waters in the fallout of the Rafael Devers drama (and subsequent trade) over the summer. On the field, he was plenty productive, too, as he hit .269 with nine homers, 12 doubles and an .838 OPS in 70 games in his limited role in 2025.
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In 309 games over the past four seasons, Refsnyder hit .276 with 27 homers, 119 RBIs, 48 doubles and an .804 OPS while serving as one of the best hitters in baseball against left-handed pitching. In 2025, he posted a .302 average, .560 slugging percentage and .959 OPS against southpaws, pairing with Romy Gonzalez to form a potent pair of right-handed platoon options for Alex Cora. Refsnyder’s .596 slugging percentage against left-handed starters was the fourth-best mark in baseball. Since the start of 2021, Refsnyder ranks third in the majors in on-base percentage against lefties (.405) among players with 300 plate appearances.
Refsnyder expressed strong interest in returning to the Red Sox in 2026 but in recent weeks, the writing has been on the wall for his departure. There aren’t many at-bats to go around in Boston’s crowded outfield/designated hitter picture and recent comments from manager Alex Cora made it harder to see Refsnyder returning in his role. Specifically, the club wants Wilyer Abreu — a platoon player to this point in his career — to get regular starts against lefties in right field, a position where Refsnyder logged 21 starts in 2025. Cora also praised the athleticism of Nate Eaton, who may take over Refsnyder’s role as a versatile, younger and cheaper version in 2026. Eaton had a .673 OPS against lefties in 49 big league plate appearances last year but the Red Sox think there’s more in his right-handed bat. Kristian Campbell is expected to focus on outfield work in spring training, too, further crowding a group that includes Abreu, Roman Anthony, Ceddanne Rafaela, Jarren Duran and potentially Eaton and others.
The Mariners will be Refsnyder’s seventh major league team, joining the Yankees, Blue Jays, Rays and Twins. He had previously signed two deals to remain in Boston, agreeing to avoid arbitration at $1.2 million for 2023, then signing a $1.85 million extension for the 2024 season that included a $2 million option for 2025.
BEACH BASH Head to Revere for its fifth annual Beach Pride Celebration. The outdoor seaside party — in case of rain, revelers will relocate to the Marriott’s Springhill Suites — will feature face-painting, a photo booth, and live DJ and drag performances. Bring your (most sand-friendly) dancing shoes. June 28, 1-6 p.m. Free. Waterfront Square, 500 Ocean Ave, Revere. revere.org
Revere Beach celebrates Pride month.Handout
DANCING QUEENSSomerville returns for their annual “Big Gay Dance Party,” featuring drag performances, music from DJ Live, and LGBTQ organizations tabling. This year’s event is themed “Gender Euphoria,” and the organizers encourage guests to dress up whatever makes the feel the most like themselves. June 27, 4:30-8:30 p.m. Free. Union Square Plaza, 90 Union Sq., Somerville. somervilleartscouncil.org/events
PRIDE RIDE Bike lovers, put on your helmets for a community ride celebrating Pride. The Cycle Loft shop hosts a cruise down Vine Brook and Minuteman Bikeway. They will also offer free snacks, drinks, stickers, and temporary tattoos. June 7, 9 a.m.-12 p.m. Free. Cycle Loft, 43 Middlesex Turnpike, Burlington. trekbikes.com/cycle-loft
ZOO-TIFUL Spend a family day among giraffes, red pandas, flamingos and more. In celebration of Father’s Day, dads will get in for free to the Stone Zoo and Franklin Park Zoo. Tickets are required for all other attendees and can be purchased online or in person. June 21, 9 a.m.- 6 p.m. Free for fathers. Franklin Park Zoo, 1 Franklin Park Rd. and Stone Zoo, 149 Pond St., Stoneham. zoonewengland.org
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A baby Hartmann’s Mountain Zebra nuzzles with his mother at the Franklin Park Zoo.John Tlumacki/Globe Staff
DRAWINGS FOR DADNeed a no-cost (but from the heart) present for pops? Head to the Hyde Park Branch of the Boston Public Library for their Father’s Day Crafts event. The library will provide all materials to make cards and other paper crafts. June 20, 9:30-11:30 a.m. Free. Hyde Park Branch of the Boston Public Library, 35 Harvard Ave., Hyde Park. bpl.bibliocommons.com/events
SYMPHONIC SUNDAY Boston Modern Orchestra Project (BMOP) hosts a free Father’s Day Concert at New England Conservatory’s Jordan Hall. Conducted by BMOP artistic director Gil Rose, the ensemble will play works composed by modern American composers, including “Miami Variations” from Pulitzer Prize winner Paul Moravec, “History of the World” by John Aylward, and Avner Dorman’s concerto “Inner Fire,” featuring cellist Kristina Reiko Cooper. June 21, 7-9 p.m. Free. Jordan Hall, New England Conservatory of Music, 30 Gainsborough St. bmop.org
Boston Modern Orchestra holds a Father’s Day performance at Jordan Hall.Handout
FOOD FEST For the foodie fathers, head over to the Rose Kennedy Greenway for an Asian Food Festival. Attendees can purchase street food, bubble tea, desserts, grilled items, and a variety of other items from different Asian cultures. The event will also feature free entertainment, including Taekwondo demonstrations, cultural dance performances, and a guest Japanese singer. For brewery lovers, the event will also feature a beer garden from Thai company Singha Beer featuring games and merchandise giveaways. June 20, 11 a.m.-7 p.m. and June 21, 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Free. Rose Kennedy Greenway. rosekennedygreenway.org
FAMILY FUN Enjoy the warmer weather at MIT Open Space’s summer party. The outdoor event will feature free soft serve ice cream, herb planting with a horticulturist, a drop-in sketching activity with Blue Mouse Gallery art school, and a performance from the Continuum Dance Project. June 24, 12-2 p.m. Free. Kendall/MIT Open Space, 292 Main St., Cambridge. openspace.mit.edu
MIT Open Space hosts a summer party.Noah Phoenix
BANDS AND BREWS Bask inthe sunshine with live music, cornhole, and Giant Jenga at Sam Summer Saturdays. Each week, a musician will take the stage at the Samuel Adams Boston Brewery beer garden. Artists scheduled to perform this month include Pittsfield singer-songwriter Autumn Phoenix (June 6 and 27) and R&B and soul artist Tenille Ja’Nae (June 13 and 20). For seasonal eat and drink, attendees can purchase burgers, hot dogs, and Samuel Adams summer ale. Multiple dates, 1-4 p.m. Free. Samuel Adams Boston Brewery, 30 Germania St. samadamsbostonbrewery.com
Sam Adams Boston Brewery hosts free live music this summer.gene buonaccorsi
ANCHORS AWAY For the aspiring sea captains in your life, Charlestown Marina and Boston Harbor Shipyard and Marina invite families to board a ship, make nautical bracelets, and meet representatives from local sailing schools and clubs during their Massachusetts Kids Boating and Fishing Week celebrations. Attendees at Charlestown Marina can also enjoy hot dogs, hamburgers, and chips. Charlestown Marina: June 6, 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Pier 6, 1 8th St. Boston Harbor Shipyard and Marina: June 7, 11 a.m.-2 p.m. 256 Marginal St. Free. masskidsboatingday.org
Charlestown Marina and Boston Harbor Shipyard and Marina host a family boating event.Handout
SUMMER SOLSTICE Mount Auburn Cemetery celebrates the longest day of the year with meditations, live music, and more. Throughout the day, the cemetery will host both free and ticketed activities. No-cost events include an outdoor meditation in the facility’s Hazel Dell (registration required) and a bat net demonstration from Tufts University biology instructor Dr. Chris Richardson. The celebration ends with a pay-what-you-can performance of Celtic and Middle Eastern inspired music from guitarist Ira Klein, the cemetery’s artist in residence, and fiddle player Cate Byrne. June 21, 10 a.m.-7:30 p.m. Free. Mount Auburn Cemetery, 580 Mount Auburn St, Cambridge. mountauburn.org
Mount Auburn Cemetery hosts a summer solstice celebration.Billy Hickey
GREENWAY GAINS The Rose Kennedy Greenway becomes a free fitness hub this season. From parkour to children’s yoga, the park offers something for everyone. Additional classes include mat pilates, Zumba, yoga, barre, and HIIT workouts. Multiple dates and locations. Free. rosekennedygreenway.org
The Rose Kennedy Greenway hosts a variety of free fitness classes.Nicole Marie Photography
WATERSIDE WORKOUTS Put on your gym clothes and head to South Boston for a waterfront fitness workout. Sessions include dance workouts, yoga (bring your own mat), and revamp training, a method that combines resistance band exercises, cardio dance, and bodyweight workouts. Multiple dates, 5:30-6:30 p.m. Free. 9 World Trade Center Ave. massport.com/community/events
PARK SERIES During the summer, Boston Parks hosts daily outdoor fitness classes in locations like the Frog Pond, Hynes Playground, and Christopher Columbus Park. Workouts include yoga, Zumba, dance fitness, strength training, and tai chi. Multiple dates and locations. Free, registration recommended. boston.gov/events
Boston Parks hosts chair yoga during their summer fitness series.Boston Parks and Recreation Department
SUFFOLK DOWNS SWEAT The Blue Line Flex series returns to Suffolk Downs. From June to September, the Yard at Beachmont Square will host a variety of fitness classes every Tuesday and Thursday from local fitness studios and instructors. Offerings include pilates, yoga, boxing, cardio dance, and high intensity interval training. Saturday sessions will also feature music from a DJ. Multiple dates, Tuesdays, 6 p.m. and Saturdays, 10 a.m. Free, registration required. The Yard at Beachmont Square, 10 Suffolk Downs Blvd., Revere. atsuffolkdowns.com
Annie Sarlin can be reached at annie.sarlin@globe.com. Follow her on Instagram @anniesarlinjournalism.
When Priscilla R. Mafalda left for Florida last week, she sounded exhausted but happy.
“Friend, I’m very tired, but thank God I’m finally taking some vacation time. I’m going to Florida,” she told her work friend, Thaiz Ramos, on Thursday.
Ramos said Mafalda promised she would call when she arrived.
“I am still waiting for that call,” Ramos said Sunday afternoon, “because part of me still cannot believe she is gone.”
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Mafalda, 25, of Worcester, was identified over the weekend as the fifth person killed in the devastating Interstate 95 crash in Virginia that also claimed the lives of four members of the Doncev family from Greenfield, Massachusetts. Authorities said Mafalda was traveling in a separate vehicle, a Chevrolet Suburban, when it was struck by a passenger bus that failed to slow for traffic near a work zone.
Friends say Mafalda, who was born in Inhapim, Brazil, had built a life in Massachusetts. A GoFundMe, which refers to her as Priscilla Ramos, no relation to Thaiz Ramos, was created after her death and says relatives are raising money to return her body to Brazil for burial.
The GoFundMe said that her husband, Igor Ernesto, was also in the vehicle and hospitalized. Mafalda’s family and GoFundMe organizers could not immediately be reached for comment.
By Sunday , over $14,000 was raised.
Ramos worked with Mafalda for years at a Massachusetts house-cleaning company. She described her as “one of the kindest and hardest-working people I have ever known.”
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Virginia State Police said the crash happened around 2:35 a.m. Friday in Stafford County, when a bus traveling from New York to North Carolina struck slowed traffic near a work zone, setting off a chain-reaction collision impacting Mafalda’svehicle. It forced her vehicle into the Doncev family’s Acura SUV and several others. The bus driver has been charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter, with additional charges pending.
This is a developing story.
Sarah Rahal can be reached at sarah.rahal@globe.com. Follow her on X @SarahRahal_ or Instagram @sarah.rahal.
What to know about MLB’s ABS robot umpire strike zone system
MLB launches ABS challenge system as players test robot umpire calls in a groundbreaking season.
The 2026 MLB season has surpassed the quarter mark, and after each team’s first 40 games, there’s plenty of reasons to tune in all summer long.
Chicago White Sox slugger Munetaka Murakami has already proven doubters wrong by launching 17 home runs, Pittsburgh’s Paul Skenes consistently looks like the best version of himself on the mound and Milwaukee ace Jacob Misiorowski is throwing harder than any starter in the majors.
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The MLB action continues on Sunday as the Boston Red Sox visit the Cleveland Guardians.
Here’s everything you need to know to tune in for the first pitch.
See USA TODAY’s sortable MLB schedule to filter by team or division.
What time is Boston Red Sox vs Cleveland Guardians?
First pitch between the Cleveland Guardians and Boston Red Sox is scheduled for 1:40 p.m. (ET) on Sunday, May 31.
How to watch Boston Red Sox vs Cleveland Guardians on Sunday
All times Eastern and accurate as of Sunday, May 31, 2026, at 6:32 a.m.
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Matchup: BOS at CLE
Date: Sunday, May 31
Time: 1:40 p.m. (ET)
Venue: Progressive Field
Location: Cleveland, Ohio
TV: Guardians.TV and NESN
Streaming: MLB.TV on Fubo
Watch MLB all season long with Fubo
MLB regional blackout restrictions apply
MLB scores, results
MLB scores for May 31 games are available on usatoday.com . Here’s how to access today’s results:
