Royals Might Trade For Red Sox $90 Million DH: 'He'd Help This Team Compete'
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The Kansas City Royals are looking to return to the playoffs in 2025, but they’ll probably need to add some juice to their lineup in the next few months via trade.
As Kansas City scans the market, one enticing bat that’s already looking mighty available is Boston Red Sox $90 million outfielder/DH Masataka Yoshida, who finds himself the odd man out of a Red Sox roster overflowing with talent in the outfield and at DH (Rafael Devers).
Yoshida wouldn’t come cheap, but he’s a surefire Major League hitter who’s slashed .285/.343/.433 so far in 248 games for Boston. Yoshida was a top-6 Rookie of the Year vote-getter in 2023 and clearly has the talent to inject Kansas City’s lineup with some much-needed power and on-base excellence.
On Thursday, FanSided’s Tim Smart linked Yoshida to the Royals.
“It feels like Yoshida's days in Boston are numbered,” Smart wrote.
“One … landing spot (for Yoshida) is Kansas City. If the Royals want to make it back to the postseason in 2025, their lineup is going to need some help.”
“They acquired Jonathan India earlier this offseason, a strong OBP guy who will help create more opportunities for the offense. But in reality, this group is heavily reliant on Bobby Witt Jr. If Witt takes any kind of step back in 2025, this team will be in trouble.”
“Yoshida isn't perfect but he'd help this team compete. The Royals are set to run their highest payroll since 2017 but they're $70 million under the first CBT threshold. Kansas City might be one of the few teams out there that could take on Yoshida's full contract and truly benefit from his performance.”
If the Royals have real interest in Yoshida, they should prepare an offer and move quickly, because he’ll have plenty of other suitors. Smart listed the Milwaukee Brewers and Colorado Rockies as two teams potentially interested in Yoshida, and there will be others.
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-0663bdabe71d386728d098a436d30d0b.jpeg "Colin Keane")
Colin Keane is a writer for Kansas City Royals On SI. He graduated from Villanova University with a Major degree in English and a Minor degree in Business. Covering NBA, MLB, NFL and college basketball, he has contributed to various outlets including NESN and FanSided.