2024 In One Sentence
While he was a Chaim Bloom signing and not added under the current administration, an “outfielder” who plays exactly one inning in the outfield over a season while hitting .280/.349/.415 is an odd player.
I don’t know? He bathed, now he’s roaming the ship. He must be the only engineer in Starfleet who doesn’t GO TO ENGINEERING! -B’Etor, Star Trek Generations
The Positives
Ok, bear with me: Masa was better in 2024 than 2023. That’s definitely couched with a number of conditions: he wasn’t available in the outfield when the team needed more players, he only played 108 games vs 140 in 2023, and we don’t know if he can physically handle a full MLB season based on what we’ve seen. However he bested his WAR numbers at FanGraphs (0.6 in ‘23. 0.8 in ‘24) while Baseball Reference gave him 1.4 WAR each season. With a smaller base of games played, that’s actually an improvement. And he matched his blistering 2023 run of .316/.382/.492 in the first half with a July and August surge of .330/.395/.503. That guy is probably closer to the player Bloom thought he was signing.
We can’t always play the ”well if you take away X” game with season-long statistics, but those 15 games in June where Masa was only able to put up a a .204/.271/.278 slash is a case where I’ll allow it. Clearly he needed to get his timing back after playing only two rehab games. You want to dream on his big runs. His weeks of consistency. When he’s on it looks like every at bat is competitive.
The Negatives
It was a bit of a slow start in April but, at the time, Reese McGuire was hitting so well Alex Cora had to find a place for him and the Sox were flush with guys who could DH on any given day. He made 4 appearances in the first 24 games as a replacement. His slow September? I don’t know. Is his ideal season 80 games? Needing quick offseason shoulder surgery might explain that slump. But someone eating up $18.6 million in payroll every year simply should be better, at all times, than Yoshida. And I get the contract isn’t his fault. Take the money, by all means! Rumors of trading this guy though? There are some high highs but a lot of very expensive lows. If he is truly done using a glove how do you find a spot for him on the 26-man roster, much less convince another team to acquire him?
Best Moment
August 16. The Red Sox demolish Corbin Burnes and top the Baltimore Orioles 12-10. Yoshida collects 3 hits including a home run. And it’s a great one.
That’s just well hit. There’s something about the lefty swing you can’t get out of right-handed hitters.
The Big Question
I watched or listened to a lot of games this season. I like what he can do as a player, which is separate from “should they have signed this guy?” But after this season, if you asked me how many games he played in i would have guessed about half. Between the roster crunch and his seemingly forever IL stint, which was followed by a two-week slump, it didn’t feel like Yoshida was around all that much. If he’s playing 108 games – at least – how can Yoshida feel like a win on this team? A platoon DH? Maybe a little more time in the outfield if, say, Jarren Duran or Wilyer Abreu is traded? Is that enough?
2025 and Beyond
With three years and almost $60 million remaining on his contract (for a 1.5 win player) the people dreaming of a Masataka Yoshida trade are out of their gourds. Unless the Red Sox are really ready to spend again that’s a big chunk of their budget just to ship him out of town. Or do you attach a prospect to sweeten the deal? Sounds bad, right? Then there is the concern raised by some beat writers that it would alienate future Japanese free agents.
That last bit I don’t think we can ever fully know. Getting traded is just part of baseball. Guys known for beards and hair sign with the Yankees. Players who want to stay on one coast go three time zones over. Although if the Red Sox wanted, say, Roki Sasaki, it might be slightly better for them to have someone that speaks the same language and enjoyed playing in Boston? Not that this is why the team failed to sign Shohei Ohtani or Yoshinobu Yamamoto last offseason.
For better or worse the Sox and Yoshida are drawn together. Whether it’s a superhero team or not is yet to be seen.
