Masataka Yoshida to begin 2025 season in Triple-A, will re-join Red Sox when ready to play in OF
The condition of Yoshida's throwing shoulder has improved as he rehabs from offseason surgery.
Instead of serving as a backup designated hitter to Rafael Devers on the Red Sox to open the 2025 season, Masataka Yoshida will get work elsewhere in the opening weeks of April.
Yoshida will begin the year with Triple-A Worcester, Alex Cora confirmed to reporters Saturday. The Red Sox manager shared that the team plans on primarily using Yoshida in the outfield this season, hoping to get him some outfield reps in the minors as part of a rehab stint following offseason shoulder surgery.
“He’s [throwing] up to 100 feet right now,” Cora told reporters, via MassLive’s Christopher Smith. “We talked about it, and we need him to play defense. Probably, he’s going to stay here for a week, go to the home opener, and join Triple-A on April 1. They’ll be in Jacksonville.”
Yoshida has gotten several reps at the plate in spring training, appearing in his 11th game of the exhibition season on Saturday. However, he’s only been a designated hitter in each of those games as the Red Sox are allowing him to hit while his condition improves from repairing a labrum tear in his right shoulder.
Late last week, Cora told reporters that Yoshida was only throwing up to 60 feet in his tosses. So, Saturday’s news that he’s throwing up to 100 feet is certainly a positive development.
Yoshida was the Red Sox’ primary designated hitter in 2024, getting 94 starts at the position. But with the Red Sox all but announcing Devers as their Opening Day designated hitter, Yoshida wouldn’t have an everyday role on the big league roster unless he could play in the outfield again.
While the Red Sox moved Yoshida from the outfield to designated hitter following some fielding struggles in 2023, Cora said the team has wanted to get him back in the field for quite a bit.
“If you ask him, there’s a reason he wanted to have surgery, too,” Cora said. “We signed him as an outfielder. Obviously, circumstances have changed here, but I’d be very comfortable when he’s healthy, to play him in the outfield.”
Yoshida started 84 games in left field during his rookie season in 2023, struggling as he recorded three errors and a minus-eight Outs Above Average (tied for sixth-worst among all outfielders). But Yoshida had solid numbers at the plate as a rookie and last season, hitting .299 with a .823 OPS and six homers in 58 games following the All-Star break.
This spring, Yoshida has hit .286 with a .686 OPS and a homer in 35 at-bats. While those numbers might not pop, Cora said that “you can tell” Yoshida’s swing is healthier than it was last season as he was eventually shut down in September due to the shoulder injury.
Now, it’s up to how Yoshida’s shoulder feels when he throws the ball in order to get him back on the big league roster on a full-time basis.
“It’s kind of [up] to his tolerance,” Cora said on when Yoshida’s throwing program will come to an end.
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