When the Boston Red Sox entered the 2026 season with five outfielders, it meant one would always get less playing time. So far, that's been Masataka Yoshida.
Under Alex Cora, Yoshida had better numbers at the plate than Roman Anthony and Jarren Duran (he had a .261/.393/.326 slash line on April 24, the day before the Red Sox fired Cora). In the Chad Tracy era, Yoshida's playing time has only decreased. He's appeared in just six games under Boston's new management, and one of those was a single pinch-hit appearance.
Despite his concession that Yoshida is a good hitter, Tracy seems reluctant to give the veteran playing time. Lately, he hasn't had much of a choice. Anthony sprained hand while checking a swing in the first inning of Boston's second series with the Detroit Tigers and the Red Sox on May 7 placed him on the injured list.
Yoshida is making excellent use of his playing time, whenever he gets it. He's slashing .310/.420/.379 with eight strikeouts through 22 games. He's taken 10 walks this year, the same number he took last season in 55 games. Yoshida's sudden increase in playing time due to Anthony's injury could be part of Boston's offensive spike, as he's slashing .556/.600/.667 through four games in May.
One thing is clear: Yoshida deserves to be in the Red Sox's lineup. But his chances for playing time may decrease even more in the coming days. Duran has been breaking out in a big way at the plate — arguably the way the Red Sox need the most.
Jarren strikes for the lead ⚡️ pic.twitter.com/B0jcRTj8j6
— Red Sox (@RedSox) May 5, 2026
The speedy left fielder has batted .259/.333/.593 in his last seven games and contributed three home runs. Boston has only hit 27 home runs as a team this season and Duran has added over 10 percent of them this week.
Duran got off to a slow start this year and batted .170/.231/.250 through the end of April. Much of Yoshida's playing time under Cora came at Duran's expense — one of them was hitting and the other wasn't. But now that Duran is hitting for power, arguably the Red Sox's greatest deficiency (though there are many), Yoshida might never see regular playing time again.
Power isn't a regular part of Yoshida's game. He's had some clutch home runs in his time, but he's only hit 29 balls over the fence in his 324 game major league career. In 2026, his expected slugging percentage is only .259 and he doesn't hit the ball in the air regularly enough to become a reliable power threat.
Of course, when Anthony, the new face of the franchise, returns, Yoshida will be back to the bench. It's hard to say he belongs there when he's hitting well enough to be an everyday player on another team, and even on this one. But as long as Duran is hitting home runs at his current pace, it will be hard to justify playing Yoshida over him.
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