What Alex Cora Said About Masataka Yoshida, Red Sox's 'Luxury'

One of the biggest marks hanging over the Boston Red Sox heading into the 2026 season is how they are going to get enough at-bats for all of their outfielders.

Boston has Roman Anthony, Ceddanne Rafaela, Wilyer Abreu and Jarren Duran to think about. But, also, they have Masataka Yoshida to think about as well. This is a good "problem" to have. Anthony is a budding superstar. Rafaela potentially is the best defensive center fielder in baseball and provides pop from the right side of the plate. Abreu is potentially the best defensive right fielder in the game and has 20-plus homer pop. When Duran is at his best, he is one of the most dynamic offensive players in the game right now. Yoshida doesn't have much defensive upside, but when healthy, he can be a near-.300 hitter with 15-plus homers. All in all, the Red Sox have talent and only so many spots to go around.

The Red Sox certainly will utilize the designated hitter spot to remedy the surplus in the short term. But this will be a question hanging over the Red Sox for as long as all of these guys are on the team. Yoshida is the guy seemingly on the outside looking in. But he had a great World Baseball Classic and Red Sox manager Alex Cora acknowledged on Monday that the fact that Yoshida played in the outfield for Team Japan was good for Boston, as transcribed by MassLive.com's Christopher Smith.

The Red Sox are loaded in the outfield, to say the least

Feb 17, 2026; Lee County, FL, USA; Boston Red Sox left fielder Masataka Yoshida (7) poses for a photo during media day at JetBlue Park. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images | Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

“The fact that he played the outfield was good for us,” Cora said, as transcribed by Smith. “It’s actually really good for us. He was moving well. He made some good throws that we saw. In the last game, there were some balls that were hammered in the left-center gap. He got to it, got rid of it. And the at-bats are always good.”

Cora also acknowledged that the surplus isn't a "problem," but instead is a "luxury."

“It’s on me,” Cora said of managing time for everyone. “My job is to use everybody, and I’ll make it work. We will make it work. ... We’re in a good spot. We got good players. We just have to make sure we keep them healthy. And it’s not a problem. It’s actually a luxury.”

It's always better to have too much talent, rather than not enough. Boston is one injury away from the surplus looking like a necessity.