Veteran Red Sox Slugger Finally Addresses Trade Rumors

The Boston Red Sox are getting ready for the season, and Masataka Yoshida’s future is still up in the air.

Yoshida signed a five-year, $90 million deal with the Red Sox before the 2023 season, but he has not lived up to expectations. Now, with Roman Anthony, Wilyer Abreu, Ceddanne Rafaela and Jarren Duran on the team, there is seemingly no room for Yoshida in the outfield or at designated hitter.

Unless he shows drastic improvement, he is not a better option than the other four Red Sox outfielders. He has been the center of trade rumors all offseason, and he finally spoke on the rumors.

“That’s something I didn’t really experience back in Japan, trades don’t really happen that much, as often as they do here,” Yoshida said through a translator on Saturday, per The Athletic’s Jen McCaffrey. “It’s something new, but if you trade somebody, both (teams) have to agree, so that’s going to be tough. It’s part of the business, but it’s something that’s new to me after I got here.”

Yoshida has a .282 batting average in the big leagues for the Red Sox, but just 29 home runs in 303 games. He had four 20-plus homer seasons in Japan, but the power has not translated. He will not be easy to trade thanks to his contract, but at this time, it does not look like he will have a consistent role.

If the Red Sox were to trade him, they would likely need to eat much of the remaining money in his deal. Keeping him, and forcing him into the lineup would take at-bats away from Anthony, Duran, Abreu and Rafaela.

Right now, there’s not much the Red Sox can do. They can hold on to him as insurance against an injury while they look for a trade. Yoshida can prove himself or increase his value with a strong spring and World Baseball Classic.