The Boston Red Sox have agreed to sign outfielder Masataka Yoshida, CBS Sports’ Jim Bowden confirmed. had to. As he was officially posted on Tuesday and reported that Bowden was on a five-year, $90 million deal with a $15 million post fee to be returned to the Orix by the Red Sox, things apparently moved quickly.
Yoshida, 29, was the NPB batting champion last season with a .336 batting average. In 121 games last season, he had 140 hits, including . 449 on-base percentage, . He scored 57 runs and drove home 89 while stealing four bases. His calling card is an at-bat discipline, as in 515 at-bats he has walked 82 times, while in 417 at-bats he has struck out only 42 times.
Here’s a quick scouting report from Baseball America for 2021.
Yoshida has good approach and power. He has room to fill in at bat, but his selective approach and ability to get to base have served him well. He doesn’t play a big role as a base stealer, but he moves a lot.
Yoshida is left fielder in the trade, so the Red Sox will move him or Alex Verdugo to right field, flanking center fielder Quique Hernández in the current situation. Socks could make a few more moves.
What we do know now is that they’ve landed a high-average, high-contact, high-OBP outfielder who can hit toward the top of the lineup in 2023.