The New York Yankees have recovered well after they lost out on Juan Soto to the crosstown club. They signed lefty ace Max Fried and traded for former Brewers closer Devin Williams and Cubs outfielder Cody Bellinger.
Bellinger is New York's latest addition and he'll address the spot Soto left missing in its outfield. The Yankees acquired the outfielder in a steal of a trade — the Cubs received reliever Cody Poteet and will pay $5 million of Bellinger's $52.5 million remaining salary over two years.
The deal was more of a salary dump than an improvement move for Chicago. It suggests the Boston Red Sox's potential trade of Masataka Yoshida may look similar.
Yoshida, a 31-year-old longtime Nippon Professional Baseball star, hasn't been bad for the Sox since his arrival stateside, but his bat hasn't delivered as expected. Yoshida slashed .285/.343/.433 with a .775 OPS in his first two seasons in a Red Sox uniform. His offensive production is fine, but his fit with the team has been the bigger issue.
Yankees-Cubs Cody Bellinger trade shows how difficult it could be for Red Sox to find potential Masataka Yoshida trade partner
Yoshida isn't a good defender and he isn't fast, which makes him a tough sell as an everyday player among Boston's other outfielders. Jarren Duran, Ceddanne Rafaela, Wilyer Abreu and Rob Refsnyder all have him beat in terms of defensive ability and overall athleticism. Yoshida is also one of the many lefties in the Sox's lineup, and his everyday role in the designated hitter slot limits Alex Cora's ability to shuffle the batting order to set appropriate matchups.
Yoshida still has three years and over $55 million remaining on his contract, which is more time and more money than Bellinger has left on his deal, which could foreshadow a rough return for Yoshida if Boston can even find a trade partner. Chicago was initially reluctant to eat any of Bellinger's salary, but New York convinced it to shave $5 million off. The Cubs' return of a veteran reliever is also uninspiring.
The Red Sox have already had trouble finding a team willing to take on Yoshida's hefty salary. The DH underwent shoulder surgery in early October, which could lessen his value even more and further complicate Boston's trade pursuits.
As they look to trade Yoshida, the Sox should expect to take on another questionable contract or pay a hefty chunk of the money due to the veteran. Bellinger plays much more than Yoshida and packs more pop and the Cubs still had to pay some of his salary for the Yankees to take him on — finding a suitable trade partner for Yoshida could be one of the more complicated tasks for Boston this offseason.