The\u00a0drama over whether\u00a0Alex Bregman or Rafael Devers plays third base for the Boston Red Sox doesn\u2019t just impact those two.<\/p>\n
It also affects Masataka Yoshida.<\/p>\n
Yoshida turned into Boston\u2019s primary designated hitter a season ago, but he could possibly lose that job if the Red Sox decide to move Devers from third base to DH \u2014 which\u00a0would be against his wishes\u00a0\u2014 and put Bregman at the hot corner. And getting back into the outfield would be tough for Yoshida, who started 84 games in left field in 2023, with Jarren Duran, Ceddanne Rafaela and Wilyer Abreu holding down starting spots and\u00a0Roman Anthony making a push\u00a0for one, too.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a difficult situation for Yoshida to be in with plenty of uncertainty, too. But he isn\u2019t getting caught up in it.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s out of my control, right?\u201d Yoshida\u00a0told reporters\u00a0Tuesday from JetBlue Park via a translator, per team-provided video. \u201cMy job is to give it all my best, whatever my job calls for. If it is to DH or if it is to play the outfield, I\u2019m just giving my best. I\u2019m still here on this team. So, I\u2019m just giving everything I got for this team.\u201d<\/p>\n
Yoshida is just a little\u00a0over two years removed from signing a five-year, $90 million deal to join the Red Sox after spending seven seasons in Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan.<\/p>\n
Yoshida dealt with a left thumb sprain a season ago and played in 108 games, hitting an underwhelming .280 with 10 home runs and 56 RBIs. He was also hampered by an ailing shoulder, which he had \u201cbig\u201d surgery on in October.<\/p>\n
The 31-year-old left-handed hitter is still recovering and just started playing catch this week. And while it\u2019s unclear at the moment exactly what Yoshida\u2019s role will be this season, Red Sox manager Alex Cora expects him to factor in someway, somehow.<\/p>\n
\u201cMasa\u2019s going to be part of the picture,\u201d Cora told reporters,\u00a0per team-provided video. \u201cWe just got to get him going. Like I said, last year he was a DH. This year, we need him to play defense. It\u2019s a different season.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The\u00a0drama over whether\u00a0Alex Bregman or Rafael Devers plays third base for the Boston Red Sox doesn\u2019t just impact those two. It also affects Masataka Yoshida. Yoshida turned… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27069","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-mlb"],"yoast_head":"\n