MLB teams were reportedly more concerned about Masataka Yoshida’s defense than his hitting
Yoshida hasn't rated too well in a few defensive metrics, but his hitting has more than made up for it.
When the Red Sox signed Masataka Yoshida over the offseason, most MLB executives and analysts panned the move.
Boston spent a total of $105 million to get the outfielder from Japan (a five-year, $90 million contract plus a $15 million posting fee), a price that many felt was too high, with one team executive reportedly telling ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel that he thought “he was worth less than half of what they paid.”
So far, the signing of Yoshida looks like a steal. The 29-year-old rookie has been one of the catalysts of the Red Sox’ offense, which ranked first in hits and second in runs entering Sunday. Yoshida’s held a .315 batting with a .937 OPS plus six homers entering Sunday’s game, in which he extended his hitting streak.
But while some analysts wondered if his hitting ability along with his knack for getting on base would transfer over to the majors, it was apparently a different element of Yoshida’s game that had teams questioning how he would fare in a new league.
“Nobody in baseball is hotter than Masataka Yoshida, their left fielder. In the last 15 games, he’s hitting .433 with a .787 slugging percentage. This is someone who other teams passed on because they didn’t think his defense was going to be good enough,” ESPN’s Buster Olney said on Sunday’s “SportsCenter.” “Look, I think anybody would take him the way he’s hitting right now.”
Some of those reported concerns about Yoshida’s defense have some truth to them. The left fielder hasn’t fared too well in a few fielding stats in his first month-plus in the majors.
While Yoshida only has one error this season, his -0.4 defensive WAR is tied with Tristan Casas for the worst on the Red Sox. He also holds the fourth-worst defensive WAR among all left fielders.
Yoshida has a -2 Outs Above Average as well, which ranks in the bottom 20 among all outfielders, per Baseball Savant. Yoshida hasn’t graded too well in a few other metrics, such as Reaction (-1.1 feet worse than average), Burst (-4.1 feet slower than average), and Jump (-4.9 feet shorter than average), which all rank in the bottom 10 among all outfielders, according to Baseball Savant.
Still, the Red Sox have to be happy with Yoshida’a hitting so far. He was eighth in batting average and seventh in OPS in the American League entering Sunday.
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