The Red Sox must find a way to trade Masataka Yoshida and his contract after an odd 2024.
How Alex Cora handled Yoshida made it clear that he doesn’t fit Boston’s new roster-building philosophy.
Among other things.
Masa and the Sox relationship became strained.
Regarding Boston’s left-handed problem, Masataka is the metaphorical elephant in the room.
Yoshida was part of trade rumors all last winter, though nothing happened.
Those were pure salary dump talks. Any trade or rumored trade this winter can’t be about salary dumping.
The Red Sox can’t just designate him for assignment or release him — whatever — and get nothing back, either.
If Yoshida is only a left-handed-hitting platoon DH, the Red Sox are better off without him.
It will be tough to remove his bat from an already strikeout-prone lineup. But it’s an unfortunate move that must be made.
Red Sox’ Masataka Yoshida Contract an ”Overpay” for the Right Player at the Right Time
Embed from Getty ImagesSay what you want about the Red Sox signing Masataka Yoshida to a $100-plus million contract before 2023.
Masa was the right player at the right time when he signed during the 2022 Winter Meetings.
Boston sought contact and plate discipline coming out of 2022.
In 2022, the Sox had the 9th-highest chase rate and 11th-highest whiff rate. They were 19th in zone contact rate and 20th in contact rate.
They were also in the middle of the pack in walks and strikeouts.
Yoshida had a rough first couple of weeks of his MLB career. But he went off after hitting that grand slam in Milwaukee.
Since that 12-5 Sox win, through July 25, he hit .343 with a .946 OPS. He had 20 doubles, 11 home runs, 44 RBI, 20 walks, and 35 strikeouts over 72 games.
Then he hit a wall.
Over his last 52 games of 2023, Masataka hit .233 with a .592 OPS. He had 11 doubles, three home runs, 19 RBI, six walks, and 38 strikeouts.
Masa’s chase rate, swing rate, and whiff rate increased. His contact rate and hard-hit rate decreased.
He stopped hitting the ball to all fields and almost exclusively became a pull hitter, often rolling over to second base.
Despite his second-half slump, Boston improved its contact and plate discipline. (Alex Verdugo and Justin Turner helped, too).
The Red Sox finished 2023 in the middle of the pack in chase rate and had the 7th-lowest whiff rate. They were 13th in zone contact and 8th in contact rate.
The Sox were also 12th in strikeouts and 24th in walks.
Masataka positively impacted the Red Sox lineup. But the same can’t be said for the Sox outfield defense.
The advanced metrics did not like Yoshida’s defense in left field whatsoever.
He had -4 Defensive Runs Saved, a -12 Fielding Run Value, and -9 Outs Above Average.
His 85 mph arm strength was in the 52nd percentile.
It’s fair to say that Masataka Yoshida was better than the numbers suggest, watching him daily.
Red Sox Made It Clear Masa Doesn’t Fit Anymore
Embed from Getty ImagesMasa was one part of a bad Red Sox outfield group in ’23.
The 2023 Sox outfield ranked 18th in DRS (-2) and 26th in OAA (-12).
Boston moved Masataka to DH to improve their outfield defense and keep him fresh throughout 2024.
That decision turned out well defensively, as the Red Sox had one of the best outfields in MLB last year.
However, there were times when putting Yoshida in left field made sense.
Cora obviously didn’t think so.
Instead, he put Connor Wong, who’d never played left, out there.
Wong also DH’d a lot to keep his bat in the lineup. Thirteen players, besides Wong, saw time at DH in ’24.
What was worse, Yoshida was only used against right-handed pitchers, even when he was doing well.
The excuses were not only getting Tyler O’Neill in the lineup and keeping him healthy but also that Masa didn’t hit left-handed pitchers.
Masa did hit .192 with a .565 OPS against lefties last year.
From June 25 to August 28, he hit .339 with a .917 OPS. Over that stretch, though, when he did face lefties, he hit .255 with a .727 OPS and a 105 wRC+.
The 31-year-old hit .273 with a .746 OPS and a 103 wRC+ against lefties in 2023.
Yoshida understandably was displeased being demoted to a platoon DH bat.
The Red Sox revealed after the season that Masataka played through a shoulder injury all season. We’ll probably never know if that affected his usage.
Regardless, that is no excuse not to let him at least face more left-handers than they let him face.
Masataka Yoshida was the antithesis of the 2024 Boston Red Sox. He is not athletic, clearly not that versatile, and not fast.
Plus, he apparently couldn’t be trusted against lefties.
Add that to his club’s struggles against left-handers and their stockpile of lefty bats — the writing is on the wall.
Taking Yoshida out of an already strikeout-prone lineup will be a tough pill to swallow.
In 2024, Masa’s chase rate was in the 72nd percentile, his whiff rate in the 95th percentile, and his strikeout rate in the 97th percentile.
The 2024 Red Sox lineup had the third-highest strikeout rate in MLB. They had the 10th-highest chase rate and the 4th-highest whiff rate.
Masataka Yoshida has three years and $54 million left on his Red Sox contract. It might be even tougher to move him now, Coming off shoulder surgery,
But the Boston Red Sox must do what it takes to move Masataka Yoshida and his contract. He clearly doesn’t fit the roster anymore.
They need to use their financial might, eat money if necessary, and/or attach a prospect to him.
Taking on a bad contract should also be an option.
Opening up the DH spot might make re-signing O’Neill, pursuing Teoscar Hernandez, or signing both more appealing.
The Red Sox need both of them more than they need a lefty platoon DH.
Featured Image Credit: Maddie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images
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