The Boston Red Sox are proud to announce that Masataka Yoshida has recently been cleared for rehab and was just playing yesterday in AAA Worcester. Since 2023, he's been the consistent contact hitter that the Red Sox have desperately been missing and will fill a key hole in that lineup.
Ever since Devers left, it's been a disaster for the Red Sox. It's either they dominate with a 13-run win, or they collapse like Walker Buehler and give up five runs in the first inning. There's no in-between with this 2025 ballclub.
In December of 2022, Masataka Yoshida signed with the Red Sox (under the Bloom regime) for 5 years, worth $90M. Despite his efforts to stay on the field, he's only played about 248 games in two seasons, but has still hit 25 home runs and 108 RBIs in that period. He's also done this while maintaining a .285 batting average and a 112 OPS+.
He's also only struck out 133 times in those two seasons, which was less than Triston Casas in just one season (2022).
However, injuries have flared up with him. Last year, he was dealing with a thumb injury, and it only limited him to 108 games. After the season ended, he underwent shoulder surgery to repair his labrum in his right shoulder. He was then put on the 60-day IL to start the regular season, and hadn't been heard of since. But he's been taking at-bats before games, and many saw that he was ready to go as he was taking game-ready at-bats.
As of Tuesday, he was cleared for rehab and was supposed to play, but the game was postponed due to rain. Now he'll have a chance to prove himself in today's doubleheader against Syracuse.
The Red Sox need his veteran bat badly, and already having no Raffy is killing the lineup entirely. Except for June 30th, the bats have been one of the most inconsistent lineups in baseball this season, and it's costing them games. Yoshida is expected to return before the All-Star Break, but he won't be making an immediate impact...just yet.