The Red Sox might have brought in an offensive game-changer over the Major League Baseball offseason.
Boston's most expensive transaction this winter was a five-year contract worth a reported $105.4 million for Masataka Yoshida, a Japanese outfielder whose stock soared in Nippon Professional Baseball. Yoshida is expected to be the Red Sox's everyday left fielder in the upcoming season and manager Alex Cora indicated the 29-year-old could find himself in the middle of Boston's batting order.
The Red Sox only have received a glimpse of what Yoshida is capable of, as Boston broke camp in late February and he's taken just five spring training at-bats entering Monday. But even with a small sample size, Yoshida has managed to impress teammates.
"His plate discipline is unbelievable," Chris Sale told The Boston Globe's Peter Abraham. "He knows his zone very well it seems like. Not a lot of wasted movement. From what I've seen so far, he's been very, very impressive. He's going to be a spark plug, for sure."
The Red Sox and their fans will be able to see Yoshida perform in a more competitive game setting this week when the 2023 World Baseball Classic commences. Yoshida is one of several Boston players competing in the global tournament and he'll take the field on home soil Thursday when Japan hosts China.
