Masataka Yoshida’s long road to recovery from shoulder surgery looks to be in its final stages, as the outfielder is set to begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Worcester on Tuesday. Red Sox manager Alex Cora confirmed the news to reporters (including the Boston Globe’s Peter Abraham) today, after heavily hinting yesterday that Yoshida was nearing a minor league assignment.
The Sox coaching staff got a first-hand look on Yoshida on Friday when he worked out at Fenway Park, taking batting practice and taking part in outfield drills. As per Cora, Yoshida will indeed be playing in the outfield as well as serving as a DH in Worcester, likely with his shoulder health factoring into how often Yoshida will be used on the grass.
Yoshida’s shoulder bothered him throughout much of the 2024 season, resulting in just a single inning of outfield work with Boston last season as he was otherwise a bat-only player. An October surgery to repair Yoshida’s right labrum has now hopefully corrected the issue for good, even if the recovery process has taken much longer than expected. The initial thought was that Yoshida would be available for Opening Day, though since he was able to hit during Spring Training games but not throw, he was began the season on the 10-day injured list to allow more time to fully ramp up.
As it turned out, Yoshida has now missed over half of the Major League season. He received treatment for a minor back issue at the end of Spring Training, and some renewed soreness in his shoulder led to a cortisone shot and a brief shutdown period from throwing in May. The Red Sox shifted Yoshida to the 60-day IL near the end of May, though that didn’t change his activation status, as the 60-day window was still linked to the start of his initial placement on the 10-day.
It remains to be seen how long Yoshida’s rehab assignment will run. Yoshida told reporters Friday that he hopes to be activated before the All-Star break, while Cora just said “we’ll see how many at-bats he needs. He’s moving well; his swing feels great.”
Now in his third season of a five-year, $90MM deal, Yoshida has hit .285/.343/.433 with 25 home runs over 1001 plate appearances in a Red Sox uniform. Those numbers break down as a .810 OPS against right-handed pitching and a .669 OPS in 252 PA against southpaws, as the left-handed hitting Yoshida has largely been used in platoon situations. Between his subpar left field defense in 2023 and his almost non-existent time in the field in 2024, Yoshida was essentially limited to being a part-time DH.
It made for an uneasy situation from a roster construction standpoint, and certainly less than what was expected from his hefty contract (which was signed by now-ex Boston chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom). Since Craig Breslow took over as the CBO following the 2023 campaign, there has been some trade speculation surrounding Yoshida in each of the last two offseasons, with the thinking being that that Red Sox would love to rid themselves of the outfielder’s contract.
As always, the perspective will change if Yoshida can start hitting, and even duplicating his solid-if-unspectacular numbers from 2023-24 would help the Boston offense. The Rafael Devers trade and Triston Casas’ season-ending knee surgery have opened things up for Yoshida in the lineup, even if it still looks like he’ll be spending most of his time at DH. Jarren Duran, Ceddanne Rafaela, Wilyer Abreu, and star prospect Roman Anthony will all likely be prioritized ahead of Yoshida for outfield work, regardless of his shoulder health.