After seeing Masataka Yoshida's performance in the World Baseball Classic so far, it's hard to imagine that he's fighting for playing time in the Boston Red Sox's lineup. But when he arrives back to camp in Fort Myers, that will be his reality.
Yoshida has put on a show in the WBC with five hits, including two home runs, four runs and six RBI with a 1.783 OPS over three games. His two home runs so far match his total over 55 games for the Red Sox last season.
Despite being "one of the best hitters" in the Red Sox's lineup — Alex Cora's words — when healthy, Boston has almost nowhere to play Yoshida. With four everyday outfielders in Wilyer Abreu, Roman Anthony, Jarren Duran and Ceddanne Rafaela, it will be hard to find at-bats for Yoshida. This conundrum has led some reporters to suggest Boston trade Yoshida, which is easier said than done given his injury history and track record in MLB.
But ESPN reporter Buster Olney sees a trade partner for the Red Sox and Yoshida in the Houston Astros. Houston is desperate for a left-handed hitter while the Sox could stand to get rid of a few, and Yoshida isn't an athletic defender so he could be a good fit for the smaller left field at Daikin Park.
Buster Olney proposes Red Sox trade that would send Masataka Yoshida to Astros
Absolute Masa Magic! pic.twitter.com/8UhFsIwGCx
— Red Sox (@RedSox) March 8, 2026
Olney admits that the Red Sox would more than likely have to eat some of Yoshida's contract money because he's owed over $18 million for the next two seasons. Yoshida's injury history has kept him from playing more than 140 games in a single season and it would be nearly impossible to get any other team to take on his full contract value.
The Red Sox and Astros failed to match up on an Isaac Paredes trade earlier this offseason and it's hard to imagine a potential deal for Yoshida ending any differently. Paredes wouldn't be part of a hypothetical Yoshida trade but it's worth noting that Boston and Houston seemingly haven't been able to agree on any player's value all winter — Yoshida's complicated path through MLB so far could make agreeing even harder.
Yoshida is a great hitter when he's healthy and he's racked up a .282/.337/.425 and .762 OPS over his three partial seasons with the Red Sox. Boston may be banking on another healthy season to keep Yoshida stashed on the bench for slightly better outcomes against lefties than Duran brings.
But it would surely love to offload some of his money, too. If the Red Sox and Astros can match up on a Yoshida trade the Sox should consider it, but fans shouldn't get their hopes up.