Red Sox Veteran Labeled 'Odd Man Out' After Willson Contreras Trade

The Boston Red Sox may have lacked impact bats, but the sheer volume of position players with which they entered the winter was still somewhat staggering.

Now that Willson Contreras is in town, and now that chief baseball officer Craig Breslow has declared that the 33-year-old will be part of the first base/designated hitter mix, two of those position players are firmly in the crosshairs: first baseman Triston Casas and designated hitter Masataka Yoshida.

If you like our content, choose Sports Illustrated as a preferred source on Google.

Both players missed significant time due to injury this season, but Yoshida was the one who ended the year healthy and producing in the middle of the order. However, he's also got a lower ceiling than Casas, is six years older, and is owed $37 million over the next two years.

Yoshida projected as most likely Red Sox out of the picture

On Tuesday, FOX Sports reporter Deesha Thosar assessed the situation and labeled Yoshida as the most likely player to be taken out of playing time if all three hitters are healthy, possibily necessitating a trade that amounts to a straight salary dump.

"Now, more than ever, Masataka Yoshida looks like the odd man out," Thosar wrote. "The lefty-swinging Fukui, Japan native will see the majority of his batting opportunities go to Contreras and Casas.

"(The Red Sox) now have a surplus of players clogging up the outfield, with Roman Anthony, Jarren Duran and Ceddanne Rafaela leading the pack. Yoshida is taking up a roster spot and the Red Sox could be having trouble moving him for any real value since he’s essentially a one-tool player coming off a down year."

The Red Sox do have options in this situation, which helps tremendously. They can start Casas on a rehab assignment if his knee isn't fully healed or even option him to Triple-A if they want him to get his bat speed back to its peak level away from the major league spotlight, especially as he's a known slow starter.

But if Casas is operating at even 85% of his peak capacity, Yoshida may well become ancillary. He's great at making contact, and that helps the Red Sox in certain situations, but he also weighs them down by taking up the DH spot and not slugging.

The good news is that the Red Sox can open the season with all three, especially if an outfielder (likely Jarren Duran) gets traded. The bad news is that the longer all three coexist, the more likely it is that one will lose their trade value completely.

More MLB: Red Sox Fan Favorite Addresses Fans After $6.25M Mariners Deal