Red Sox best signing is team’s biggest question mark of 2023
The Boston Red Sox offseason has been pretty much a dud once again as they continue their failed way of trying to patch together the team with duct tape and thread. Will they ever learn?
All but the most strident and short-sighted fans of Boston Red Sox Nation will acknowledge that fact and accept it. But hope springs eternal in Red Sox Nation and the pollyannas continue to believe that all’s well that’s hosed in red sox, whatever the reality of the situation is.
Being called a “moron” and other not-so-nice labels goes with the turf when you call out home teams like the Red Sox with opinions that don’t fall right in line with the company’s PR line.
Express an opinion that contradicts the “Boston Red Sox can do no wrong” mantra or the even more strident “Believe in Bill” nonsense of Patriot Nation, and you will be subjected to those comments. It is what it is. Fellow bloggers beware!
Fortunately, we have the First Amendment right of free speech in this country, and opinions are just that, opinions, for whatever they’re worth.
Boston Red Sox made one really good move this offseason
Not only this space feels that the team’s primarily band-aid approach has gone sour but they have also been taken to task for the poor condition of the supposedly rebuilt farm system.
Depleting that system was part of the specious reason for kicking Dave Dombrowski to the curb after a truly outstanding tenure in Boston. It was a phony excuse for the owners seeking to cut costs and operate on a shoestring instead of a nice pair of Allen Edmonds loafers.
All that notwithstanding, one move made this offseason could be a really big plus. That would be the signing of star Japanese Professional Baseball League outfielder, Masataka Yoshida. Again, signing a top Japanese ballplayer for serious money is a big-market team approach.
The Boston Red Sox baseball management team deserves praise for acting like a big-market team on that move and they’ll get in this space, for certain. And that opinion prevails even if the player flops. Say again?
Boston Red Sox signing of Yoshida risky but still solid
Yes, even if Yoshida can’t cut the mustard, it’s still a move that made sense for a team like the Boston Red Sox. Big clubs have money and if you have the cash you can pay the freight for a risky signing like this.
Why risky? All transitions from one nation’s league to another’s are inherently risky. You just never know if they will pan out or not. These moves to a greater or lesser extent are crap shoots of sorts.
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Some, like signing Shohei Ohtani recently and Ichiro Suzuki, back in the day, were less of a risk since they were just so outstanding. Yoshida is not at that level most likely, but he’s no slouch either.
Mlb.com had this to say about the player,
"Yoshida, 29, played in 762 games over seven seasons (2016-22) with the Orix Buffaloes of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball, batting .327 (884-for-2,703) with a .421 on-base percentage, .539 slugging percentage, 161 doubles, 133 home runs, and 467 RBI. A four-time NPB All-Star (2018-19, ’21-22) and two-time Pacific League batting champion (2020-21), he led the league in OPS in both 2021 (.992) and 2022 (1.008). Yoshida earned a Gold Medal with Japan at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games and helped lead Orix to the 2022 Japan Series title."
That level of consistency is what makes this player a good bet for the Boston Red Sox, even at the almost $105.3M price tag all-told for the signing.
Yoshida also has decent power averaging just under 20 HRs per season. The Red Sox will need it. He also doesn’t strike out much and gets his share of walks. All good stats there.
Will it determine the future of Boston Red Sox Chief Baseball Officer Chaim Bloom as John Tomase suggested it may? Who knows? But when you roll the dice on an unquestionably solid talent, who’s healthy and in his prime, it shouldn’t.
Next. Red Sox outlook 2023: What if Masataka Yoshida lives up to the hype. dark
Whatever the outcome, it’s a big-time baseball move by a big club, and similar to signing Rafael Devers, it’s exactly what the team should be doing more consistently and hasn’t.
Some you win, and some you lose. But it says here, the Yoshida move is a good bet, and Chaim Bloom is to be congratulated for making it.