Masataka Yoshida's shoulder surgery could be detrimental to Red Sox's offseason plans

The Boston Red Sox organization announced on Oct. 16 that Masataka Yoshida underwent a successful right labral repair on Oct. 3.

The designated hitter told reporters on the final day of the regular season that he'd been playing through shoulder pain that may require surgical intervention to mend. A team source suggested Yoshida may be ready for action when spring training comes around, but the Red Sox have placed his expected return around Opening Day.

A late-March return would put Yoshida out of commission for the entire offseason, which doesn't bode well for Boston's trade hopes.

The Red Sox's lineup is bogged down by too many lefties and they need to get more righties in the mix to balance the bats. Boston hasn't been a big spender in recent offseasons and, despite new promises from the front office, this winter could be more of the same. Many of the Sox's big moves could come via trade.

Yoshida has been named as a popular trade candidate due to his lackluster performances with the Red Sox and the hefty amount of money remaining on his contract. The Red Sox front office has not said outright that it hopes to trade Yoshida, but if the team is trying to drain salary, he could be the best choice. Boston has Yoshida on lock until the end of the 2027 season with over $55 million remaining on the deal.

Masataka Yoshida's shoulder surgery could make it much harder for Red Sox to trade him this offseason

It would be hard for the Red Sox to trade Yoshida solely based on how pricey he is, but his 2024 stats wouldn't command anything near his salary on the open market. He slashed .280/.349/.415 with 21 doubles, 10 homers and 26 RBI. Yoshida is not a skilled defender, nor is he fast, so it could be hard for teams to justify swapping another outfielder for him.

Yoshida's injuries could make it even harder for the Sox to offload him. He only posted 108 games in 2024 after he spent over a month on the injured list with a thumb strain and his shoulder surgery could derail his preseason preparations. Yoshida is already a well-documented slow starter and a winter spent recovering rather than training could exacerbate that issue.

The Red Sox have many more lefties they could trade, although they wouldn't free up much salary with the potential moves. Wilyer Abreu, Triston Casas and Jarren Duran have all been floated as potential trade candidates, but all three are younger and more well-rounded than Yoshida.

The odds aren't in Boston's favor when it comes to finding a suitor for Yoshida, and his offseason surgery is sure to make him harder to trade. He hasn't officially requested a trade from the Red Sox organization, but Craig Breslow said no one is off the trade block.

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