Alex Cora and the Boston Red Sox are saying a brief goodbye to Masataka Yoshida.
Yoshida is set to leave spring training Wednesday to join Team Japan ahead of the World Baseball Classic. Japan will have two tune-up exhibition contests before tournament play begins against China on March 9.
And Cora knows how he wants Yoshida to be used in those two games. According to The Boston Globe’s Pete Abraham, Cora would prefer that Yoshida played in left field for one game and take on designated hitter responsibilities in the other contest.
Cora, who also hoped Japan would limit Yoshida’s playing time before the matchup against China, wanted the Red Sox newcomer to pass those instructions along once he got to his next destination.
“We’ve just got to make sure he doesn’t play nine (innings) right away from the get-go,” Cora told reporters, per Abraham. “They’ll take care of him and then the tournament starts.”
While Cora would like to see Yoshida at DH, Yoshida knows that might not happen since Japan likes to fill that spot with the best player in the world in Shohei Ohtani.
It’s not a surprise that Cora wants to be protective of Yoshida. He was the prized possession of Boston’s offseason, signing a five-year deal worth a reported $90 million.
Yoshida has been under the watchful eye of the Red Sox in spring training, even working with franchise legend Jim Rice on learning how to field balls off the Green Monster.
But the Red Sox won’t have the luxury of paying close attention to Yoshida coming up with him on another continent, and they’ll have to have trust that Japan will handle him with care.
