Boston Red Sox rookie Masataka Yoshida played star role in WBC

The Boston Red Sox has been mostly bottom-feeding in free agency in the 2023 off-season and eschewing more popular signings of star players. It is what it is.

Yet, it’s always risky to question Boston Red Sox Chief Baseball Officer Chaim Bloom as was learned witnessing his masterclass in 2021. He made chicken salad out of proverbial chicken … parts and fashioned an ALCS participant in the process. Critics beware!

This offseason, as in his previous three, has seen more of the same strategy. He’s crafted the 2023 club largely from older and/or injury-risk players, always less glittering than signing stars.

One exception to that was Bloom’s big-market team-like signing of Masataka Yoshida, a star outfielder from the Japanese Professional Baseball League.

That move was lauded as being exactly what big-market teams like the Boston Red Sox should do, win or lose. They spend big money on top players, even if it’s risky coming from a non-US baseball league.

Let’s explore what’s happened since.

Boston Red Sox may have hit paydirt with Yoshida

Since Yoshida’s signing, the World Baseball Classic (WBC) is been played. Yoshida is a starter for the excellent Japanese squad that also features former American League MVP, Shohei Ohtani.

In international soccer (aka football), the World Cup is a monumental event. In baseball, it’s nowhere near that big, but it’s the world’s best nonetheless.

The good news is, Yoshida’s making waves there, and may be another masterclass by the Boston Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom. He’s been lights out in helping his national team win the finals of the WBC against another great team, the United States of America.

The rooting interest, of course, here is the USA all the way. Yet, Yoshida has made waves and all signs point to his signing being one of the big stories of the upcoming MLB season.

Of course, one short series against a world competition does not an MLB star make. But it’s sure one heckuva good way to prepare for the rigors of the upcoming season wearing red hose.

Boston Red Sox Yoshida crushed it in the WBC

To date, here’s part of what John Tomase of nbcsports.com has to say about Yoshida in the WBC,

"With all due respect to the incomparable Shohei Ohtani and record-setting slugger Munetaka Murakami, the breakout star of this tournament is Yoshida, who has already set a record with 13 RBIs and will look to add to his total in Tuesday night’s finale vs. the United States…On Monday, that meant not only the game-tying three-run homer in the seventh inning when Japan appeared stymied by Mexico, but also throwing out an insurance run at the plate an inning later, and then walking to put the winning run at first in the ninth before Japan completed its comeback in a 6-5 victory."

Boston.com notes Yoshida’s WBC line to date prior to the final against the USA,

"Yoshida has been an instrumental part of Team Japan’s run to a third WBC Final. The 29-year-old outfielder is now batting .474 (9-for-19) in the tournament with two home runs, 13 RBI, three walks, and no strikeouts.Yoshida’s 13 runs driven in are the most ever for any player in a single World Baseball Classic."

Again, WBC tournament play isn’t necessarily translatable to the MLB, but Yoshida’s excellence isn’t against chopped liver either. This is good baseball and when he faced the US team, it was  great baseball.

In helping his team win the WBC, Yoshida has flashed big-time talent and Red Sox Nation should be taking note.

Again, Chaim Bloom and the Boston Red Sox acted like a big-market team when they splashed over $100M of the owner’s cash to sign Yoshida, an accomplished Japanese star.

Bloom deserved and got credit for that strategy of going big for a big-time player. As a Red Sox follower, let’s hope this is the beginning of a Back to the Future policy for the Red Sox.

The Boston Red Sox are a big-market team and hopefully, as in the case of Yoshida, they’ll continue to act like one.