Red Sox Players Facing Heightened Pressure With $90 Million Man's Return

"Somebody's going to sit"

Mar 18, 2025; Tampa, Florida, USA; Boston Red Sox outfielder Masataka Yoshida (7) takes batting practice before a spring training game against the New York Yankees at George M. Steinbrenner Field. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images / Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

At long last, Masataka Yoshida is getting set to make his season debut with the Boston Red Sox.

Yoshida's rehab stint began earlier this week with Triple-A Worcester, and he's since moved on to Double-A Portland. With the All-Star break looming at the end of the next homestand, we now know when we'll see the Japanese slugger begin his third season in Boston.

On Saturday, Cora said Yoshida was due to make his return during the upcoming Red Sox homestand, which takes place Monday through Sunday against the Colorado Rockies and Tampa Bay Rays, after two more rehab games with Portland.

Yoshida's position has been a hot topic all season, and the fact that he took ground balls at first base earlier this week only increased the intrigue. But Cora says Yoshida will mix in between designated hitter and the outfield, where he's played his first two seasons.

“He’ll DH one of them and play the outfield the next one,” Cora said, per MassLive's Chris Cotillo. “Monday’s off, then we’ll talk about what we do. He’ll be active during the homestand. When? We don’t know.”

It will be good to get Yoshida's bat back in the lineup. While the Red Sox might not be getting the return on their five-year, $90 million investment they imagined, he's given them a 114 OPS+ in two seasons, which will be an improvement anywhere he slots in.

But there's an obvious catch with Yoshida's return. When one good hitter re-enters the lineup, someone has to exit, and in this case, it figures to be one of the other left-handed hitters rotating between outfield and designated hitter.

“Somebody’s going to sit,” Cora said. “That’s where we’re at roster-wise. It’s not a problem. It’s a luxury to be honest with you.

“That’s the reality of it. We’ve got a lot of good players. Some guys are not gonna play certain days. There’s certain lefties that aren’t gonna play against righties one day. That’s the way it’s going to be because we have lots of good players.”

If an outfielder has to sit, it could be Wilyer Abreu or Jarren Duran versus a lefty or Ceddanne Rafaela versus a righty, though the latter seems to have earned the right to start every game with his sensational defense.

There's also a scenario in which Rafaela moves to the infield and displaces David Hamilton or Romy Gonzalez at second base, but that seems to defeat the purpose of keeping him in there for his defense.

All of this is likely leading to a trade, whether it's Yoshida, Duran, or (less likely) Abreu. But as tight as the roster crunch is about to get, none of that matters if it produces more wins.