The Boston Red Sox won 89 games in 2025, but they are just scratching the surface of what this team can do.

In 2025, the Red Sox were pretty beaten up throughout the season despite the good record. Triston Casas missed a good chunk of the season, rookies Marcelo Mayer and Roman Anthony got knocked out down the stretch, Wilyer Abreu missed time down the stretch, but was able to return, Masataka Yoshida missed time early, but came into the fold when Rafael Devers was traded, and the starting rotation was specifically decimated. All in all, the Red Sox can be even better in 2026, depending on how the offseason goes.

Boston’s rotation has been under a microscope as Garrett Crochet and Brayan Bello were the only two healthy starters who began the campaign in the rotation at the big league level. But, there are other questions as well, including designated hitter. Yoshida occupied the role in 2024 and then it was Devers’ until he got traded in 2025. Yoshida saw a lot of time there, but he’s someone to watch this offseason. A lot has been said about him and MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo predicted that he will be elsewhere when the 2026 season begins.

Sep 30, 2025; Bronx, New York, USA; Boston Red Sox left fielder Masataka Yoshida (7) runs out his two run single against New York Yankees relief pitcher Luke Weaver (30) during the seventh inning of game one of the Wildcard round of the 2025 MLB playoffs at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images / Brad Penner-Imagn Images

“The prediction here is that the Red Sox do move an outfielder, potentially Duran, in a trade for pitching, finding the perfect deal they’ve been pining for,” Cotillo said. “Anthony, Rafaela and Abreu are the starting outfielders with Garcia, Refsnyder and Campbell in the mix as backups. From there, Breslow spends big on a big bat at DH, with Schwarber as the top candidate. Yoshida is playing elsewhere on Opening Day.”

Yoshida signed a five-year, $90 million deal and has two seasons left. But, the Red Sox’s DH position certainly seems to be in flux. Yoshida is a great contact hitter, but doesn’t bring much by way of defense and the outfield already has a surplus. It would make sense for the Red Sox to try to get some sort of deal done, but that would be easier said than done, unless Boston kicked in some money.

Yoshida played 55 games in 2025 and 108 games in 2024. Moving him would open up DH for either an addition, or to make it easier to balance the current outfield with Ceddanne Rafaela, Anthony, Abreu, and Jarren Duran.

His contract is expensive and without much playing time last season, his trade value isn’t high right now. If the Red Sox are going to cut ties with Yoshida, they will have to get creative and definitely eat some of the cash. Last year, there were rumors about trading Yoshida, but all of that chatter stopped when it was announced that he was undergoing surgery. Now, the noise is even louder.

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