Post by Lark11 on Dec 8, 2022 12:10:46 GMT -5
According to Jeff Passan of ESPN, the Red Sox are signing Japanese free agent outfielder Masataka Yoshida to a five-year, $90 million contract.
Yoshida was officially posted by the Orix Buffaloes of Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball on Wednesday and didn't take long to land a massive long-term commitment from Boston. The 29-year-old left-handed hitting outfielder, who batted .326/.419/.538 with 135 home runs across 781 games over the last seven seasons in Japan, seems like a perfect fit for Fenway Park's compact dimensions. He has an opportunity to bat near the top of the Red Sox' lineup in 2023 and beyond.
Yoshida was officially posted by the Orix Buffaloes of Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball on Wednesday and didn't take long to land a massive long-term commitment from Boston. The 29-year-old left-handed hitting outfielder, who batted .326/.419/.538 with 135 home runs across 781 games over the last seven seasons in Japan, seems like a perfect fit for Fenway Park's compact dimensions. He has an opportunity to bat near the top of the Red Sox' lineup in 2023 and beyond.
I haven't seen Masataka play, but multiple pundits say that he is a poor defender, has minimal speed, and his power is unlikely to translate given that he is only 5-8, which would make him a one dimensional high-contact/possibly high-obp hitter.
If the pundits are right, this feels like an odd signing and a strange assumption of risk by the BoSox.
