The upcoming World Baseball Classic will allow the Boston Red Sox to get away with keeping their crowded outfield as is for a few more weeks. But soon enough, Opening Day will be here and a roster crunch is coming.
Wilyer Abreu, Roman Anthony, Jarren Duran and Ceddanne Rafaela are all worthy of everyday playing time. With only three outfield spots, one of them will need to be the designated hitter (Alex Cora has already announced that Abreu and Rafaela will take the field each day, as the two Gold Glove winners should).
The DH spot has become a home for Masataka Yoshida since 2024, when Abreu, Rafaela, and later Anthony emerged to pack the outfield grass. That arrangement is about to change as Anthony and Duran rotate in and out of the DH role, which leaves the Red Sox without an obvious place to play Yoshida.
Calls to trade Yoshida have echoed through the last two seasons, and they're getting louder as Boston's roster construction grows more complicated. Red Sox reporters Sean McAdam and Chris Cotillo have even discussed the possibility of release, Ã la Pablo Sandoval, on the "Fenway Rundown" podcast. In doing so, they also highlighted why that may be a rash decision.
Red Sox potentially releasing Masataka Yoshida would be a brutal choice for a good player who's given his all
"What's tough about that is that he is a lot better than Pablo Sandoval was," Cotillo said.
"There are no complaints from the organization or teammates," McAdam continued about Yoshida. "They like this guy, he works hard, he plays hard, he tries to help, but he is limited."
It's be hard to argue that Yoshida has lived up to the Red Sox's expectations since his tenure in Boston began in 2023. He was an on-base machine in Nippon Professional Baseball (.421 career OPS over seven seasons) but that hasn't translated to MLB, where he's slashed .282/.337/.425 over 303 games across parts of three seasons.
Still, it's not for a lack of trying. Yoshida has been unlucky with injuries and he's played a maximum of 140 games in a season. That's especially a shame because Yoshida is a slow starter and he benefits from consistent playing time, which he hasn't had, and seemingly won't get, barring injuries to other outfielders.
Yoshida has a recent history of coming through when the Red Sox have needed him most, and he was arguably the hero of their playoff chase in September after Anthony's season-ending oblique injury. He batted .333/.351/.486 with two homers and 13 RBI in September and notched four hits and two RBI in three Wild Card games against the New York Yankees.
Yoshida went from being a star in his home country to not fitting in on his new team because of its poor roster construction, which would be tough on any player — especially one who's largely played well when he's healthy. He has what can only be described as a cult following with a group of passionate Red Sox fans, but that may not be enough for the Red Sox to keep him around for the duration of his contract.
And that's a shame. Yoshida is no Sandoval, he gives his all, his teammates like him and the Red Sox have no gripes with his personality or effort level. If Boston releases him, it'd be for reasons entirely out of his control, which he doesn't deserve. But baseball can sometimes be a cruel business.