December 15: The Red Sox have officially announced the signing, designating infielder Jeter Downs for assignment in a corresponding move. Chris Cotillo of MassLive provides the breakdown of Yoshida’s deal, with features a $3MM signing bonus, $15MM salary in 2023 and $18MM salary in each subsequent season.
December 7: The Red Sox have made a big addition to their lineup, agreeing to terms with outfielder Masataka Yoshida. It’s reportedly a five-year, $90MM guarantee, and the deal does not contain any option provisions or opt-out clauses. The Japanese star had just been made available via the posting system this week, but the Sox struck quickly with a record-setting contract offer.
Yoshida lands the loftiest guarantee of any position player making the jump from Nippon Professional Baseball to the majors. The record was just set last spring by Seiya Suzuki, who inked a five-year, $85MM deal with the Cubs. Perhaps not coincidentally, Yoshida will edge past that by a million dollars annually.
It’s a massive gamble for the Red Sox, but one they’re prepared to take to add much-needed outfield help. Yoshida has been one of the more accomplished hitters in Japan for the past few seasons. He’s appeared in NPB for the last seven years and carries a career .327/.421/.539 line. The left-handed hitter has reached base in more than 40% of his plate appearances in each of the past six seasons, and he topped a 1.000 OPS for the first time in 2022. Yoshida hit .335/.447/.561 through 508 trips to the dish this year.
The 29-year-old has shown exceptional bat-to-ball skills in Japan, walking more often than he’s struck out for four straight years. This past season’s marks were especially impressive, as he had nearly twice as many free passes as punchouts. Yoshida walked at a massive 15.7% clip while fanning in only 8.1% of his plate appearances. He surely won’t be expected to maintain rates quite that impressive in MLB, where the quality of pitchers’ repertoires is more consistent. Yet the Red Sox are confident he’ll carry over much of that elite on-base ability, presumably as a top-of-the-lineup option for skipper Alex Cora.
The plate discipline is Yoshida’s primary attribute, but he also brings a fair bit of extra-base pop. Despite being listed at just 5’8″, he’s topped 21 home runs in four of the last five years, and he’s collected over 20 doubles five years running. He’s never reached 30 longballs in a season, although he’s consistently been a threat for 20+ homers in Japan.
Suzuki had a stronger track record from a power perspective, twice topping 30 homers and blasting 38 during his final NPB season. Suzuki didn’t have Yoshida’s elite plate discipline metrics, though, posting roughly equal strikeout and walk numbers for his final two years. Yoshida brings a different profile than Suzuki will, but the Red Sox are clearly of the opinion he’ll immediately step in as an above-average offensive performer at the MLB level. Suzuki, for what it’s worth, did immediately find success — hitting .262/.332/.433 in his first season in Chicago.
Yoshida will have to perform at the plate to be productive, as he doesn’t offer much defensive value. He’s generally viewed as a left field-only player at the MLB level. That had been a key area of need for Boston, which entered today with Jarren Duran atop the depth chart. The former top prospect has only a .219/.269/.354 line in 335 MLB plate appearances over the past two years. He’ll be bumped into fourth outfield duty or back to Triple-A Worcester, and it stands to reason the Sox could at least consider the possibility of dealing Duran to add MLB help elsewhere on the roster.
Boston’s investment goes beyond the contract value, as they’ll also owe compensation to the Orix Buffaloes. Under the MLB – NPB agreement, an MLB team that signs a player who’d been posted owes a fee to the player’s former NPB team. That’s dependent on the value of the contract itself, with the posting fee coming out to 20% of the contract’s first $25MM, 17.5% of the next $25MM and 15% of any additional dollars. On a $90MM guarantee, that comes out to a $15.375MM payment to the Buffaloes. Overall, the Red Sox’s investment tallies $105.375MM.
The specific financial breakdown has yet to be reported. An even distribution of $18MM annually would bring the Sox’s estimated 2023 payroll commitments around $175MM, per Roster Resource. The $18MM average annual value brings the team’s luxury tax commitments to around $195MM. They’re still well shy of the $233MM base tax threshold and their estimated $207MM Opening Day payroll from this past season.
Boston’s certainly not done, and it’s possible they finalize another major contract in the coming days. Reports this morning suggest there’s growing momentum between the Sox and Xander Bogaerts, lending some optimism they could retain the four-time All-Star. Beyond the middle infield, areas like catcher and the back of the rotation stand out as potential targets for chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom and his staff moving forward.
Yoshida’s signing subtracts another outfielder from the open market. Brandon Nimmo is the top player remaining, while Andrew Benintendi, Jurickson Profar and Michael Conforto are options at lower tiers. Teams like the Yankees, Blue Jays and Mariners reportedly had interest in Yoshida. All three have been searching for solutions in the corner outfield and will have to look elsewhere if they’re to land a lefty-swinging outfielder.
Jeff Passan of ESPN was first to report the Red Sox and Yoshida had agreed to a five-year deal worth north of $85MM. Jon Heyman of the New York Post was first to peg the guarantee at $90MM. Alex Speier of the Boston Globe reported the deal contained no options or opt-out clauses.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.
That was quick.
ThAt’S wHaT sHe SaId! 🙂
I always appreciate a well placed that’s what she said.
Your Caps Button is on the fritz, though.
I’m glad John Henry finally realized Red Sox Nation will not accept another last place finish.
Now go out there and use Yoshida to land Senga.
I spotted a positive post? But no Bloom credit? Still, it’s positive.
I like the pickup for the Red Sox. Has some risk, but teams seem to really believe in his bat-to-ball skills.
Lord – No risk, no reward. Look at most of the recent big name signings, they all are risky … mostly because of injury issues.
I think there’s been enough successful transitions from Japan to MLB that makes it worth the risk.
pedey – You think I didn’t see your recent posts bashing Bloom? Haha!
I’m not particularly happy with him either, though the two sigings today were a good change. Still don’t know overall, he’s a mystery.
Still don’t know overall, he’s a mystery.
================================
I’m not sure how much of a mystery it is. he finally has some money to spend. We have like 19-20 guys that are pretty automatic to make the team, with $85M to spend (before the recent signings).
There was a pretty good likelihood that we’d get a few high-priced signings.
Joe- he had money to spend all along. He went over the cap last season right? And for what, to lose draft pick compensation for QO players? He’s a total mystery.
JoeBrady, Bloom spent more AAV and weekly payroll money last offseason absorbing JBJ’s contract than he did on today’s signing.
So, no, you can’t claim he FINALLY had money to spend.
Bloom just let x-man go to SD. So, once again….
F^CK BLOOM!
That’s what she said.
BURN!!!
Nice gamble here for teams in need of OF help. There top tier hitters usually pan out.the above average positional players, not so much.
Phrasing!
Good move. They are trending in the right direction albeit a very competitive division
I’d rather have Bogey.
Bloom better not point to this as keeping money away from signing him instead.
Boston sorely needed OF help, so this should have no bearing on Bogaerts. Losing Bogaerts would hurt either way, and keeping him would have still meant needing more in the OF without this move.
Wow that was fast!!!
That’s what my ex wife would always say hence why I’m divorced.
Ah, you opted for olympic sex, you came in first and she…well she didn’t. You were the better athlete!
I am now a free agent but the phone ain’t ringing 🙁
Maybe I should hire Scott Boras?
Just keep in mind that he always gets at least 10%
Best I can do is offer him a tube of slightly used POGS from the 90s and a footjob
TMI
Not sure? With you’re screen name you sound like you might have a condition that needs to be treated, ASAP!
My only condition is the superhuman ability to do huge bong rips without coughing.
Some call it a curse, I call it a blessing.
Yea but the wife got to keep the gold
5%
I should have thought of that!
I heard he is all hit, and no field, obviously not as good as Ichiro. But who is?
His numbers aside from HRs compare favorably with Suzuki who came over last year. After facing superior mlb pitching, he settled into ! Lesser bat with about 20 less HRs and .050 drop in batting average.
Comfort level paying wise is to expect an average-level bat as a floor and hope for better.
There is a big difference in contact and playe discipline. He walked twice as many times as he struck out last year. Over 450 ABs he averaged less than 40 K’s the past 3 seasons. Suzuki averaged nearly double in Japan. Masataka probably won’t provide more than 20 HR pop (if that) but his average and OBP have better chances of translating than Suzuki due to his approach. Not saying he will actually hit the same as in Japan. But expect his BA drop to be less significant than a more traditional power hitters would be.
You beat me to it. Exactly what I was going to say.
I’ll also add that they don’t shift like they do here. Yet Yoshida was shifted against continually. and still hit for a good average. Shows he knows how to go to opposite field and he’ll be able to take advantage of that wall.
yewed – Offensively he sounds like Ichiro Lite, which I’d be perfectly happy with.
It’s been a long time since the Sox have had a legit leadoff hitter, good signing IMO.
In his presser he said he not comfortable with the leadoff spot.
Mentality is a good part of being able to produce there, and, doesn’t sound like he’s got it.
Shogo #2
Ummmmmmmmm O H T A N I
Why can he pitch?
There’s only one Ohtani
Better than Duran I suppose probably not as good as Alex verdugo though
Exciting. I hope he mashes.
5’8” 176lbs in soaking wet prison denim.
This is true, but he has surprising power and can make consistent contact…in Japan. Now idea how this translates to the US.
260 8hr 67 RBI (prediction)
They said the same about shogo with the reds
If he can hit, then who cares? Was Ichiro any bigger? Give the kid a chance.
How big was Pedroia?
Ouch, stole one… good move for the Red Sox.
Wow, nice. Hope he makes the transition well and rakes.
What does gardening have to do with it?
Lots of leaves on the ground around Beantown this time of year
Hopefully this plays out better than Rusney Castillo ever did…
Hard to work out worse…
Not for Rusney……
What happened to Rusney?! Minors still?
NPB
After his contract -finally- ran its course he went to Mexico and then Japan, that’s all I know…Guy has to be at least 35 by now….?
Still grabbed a lot of cheddar…..70million or so….and I was pissed the Phillies didn’t sign him….whew….
Independent leagues
NPB (no play baseball)
They won’t be able to remove his salary for cap purposes the way they did with Rusney if he turns out to be a bust.
The Red Sox did Rusney dirty… he was a legitimately capable ML player and because of the salary ramifications they let him waste away in AAA so he never counted against the luxury tax. No… he wasn’t the superstar we’d all hoped for… but he was better than some of the OFs they were running out there instead. I still stand by he would have been an average to slightly above average ML hitter if given the chance. look at his AAA numbers… they don’t look like a guy who shouldn’t ever be called up.
Contract was still guaranteed….so 70 mil in the books and in his pocket?
Dirty…yes….but his check still cashed….
I do wonder what the minor league clubhouse dynamic was…..?
By all accounts he was a stellar MiLB teammate.
So did he drop off the cliff so far no one wanted him when the contract was up? That’s why I asked previously where he was. No one thought that much of him to take him after that.
You can’t grab everyone.
Now sign Senga!
Exactly what I was thinking. Him and Bogaerts would immediately make the off-season feel like a win for the fans… which at this point is an actual legitimate financial consideration for ownership after last years debacle.
Facts. I went from going to 10 games in 21 to going to 4, not one after may, in 22. I’ll be watching closely what they do this off-season to see if I go to games this year.
He’s going to the Mets
Hi numbers are just SICK! WOW
Come on Mets…WAKE UP….
Wake up? They have the highest payroll in baseball and signed last year’s CY Young amongst others. They’ve been up this whole time.
Better to be caught sleeping?
Or caught with your pants down.
Depends on who catches you with your pants down…
Hi, numbers are sick! Said my cool math teacher.
The Yankees were sleeping here. I could care less about his defense in left field. Take him out and put Florial/Cabrera in the game in the 7th for defense, if he’s that bad defensively. Smh
That’s was like 3 days from Posting to Signing! Zoiks. That’s the marvelous Japanese efficiency on display, I guess.
Yeah either very impressive and aggressive work by the Red Sox. Who decided he’s our man, period, how much will it take to be done with this? Or Boras had been talking to clubs about him for weeks.
Love this move especially with the green monster. So many doubles. And so much cheaper than judge
So you’re comparing him to Judge? Lmfao
In price, he is “so much cheaper than judge”.
no. but if he bats 290 with 25 hrs and a bunch of doubles. Or have judge who will bat 290 with 15 to 20 more hrs but cost over 250 mil more I rather have him then judge.
Per the article: “Its a massive gamble for the Red Sox”.
Is it anymore of a gamble than any other FA? In fact, based on Japanese players in MLB, I’d say its less of a gamble.
He’ll be lucky to hit 10hr
The article yahoo just put out about how 3 different baseballs were used last year is pretty interesting. Normal balls, special event balls, and… Yankee game balls. MLB of course insist the astrophysicist who conducted the study of over 200 game used balls is wrong… but it’s definitely interesting.
Maybe that’s why the Yankees were surprised that Judge’s fly ball in MMP in the ALCS wasn’t a HR.
This is a good article about the 3 balls used in MLB in 2022. Looks like MLB has something to hide as MLB is saying they will fire people who give balls to people who will investigate them.
insider.com/mlb-used-two-balls-again-this-year-and…
Still not a single meaningful trade at the winter meetings. Not one.
You have to grab the available free agents first then you can make trades later.., in fact all winter long. When free agents are gone they’re gone.
Beats giving up the farm for Reynolds
YUP!
I think this is a nice move. He is a bit of a mystery. Small frame may make the power difficult to translate. Could be a Kaz Matsui type if it doesn’t but we will see. Not a ton of speed apparent. Curious to see if he has gap to gap type power and turns into a doubles machine.
He’s got a tremendous batting eye. hopefully he turns into a solid lead off hitter. Regardless I’ll take it.
“Small frame may make the power difficult to translate.” (See Altuve, Jose)
I’m aware they exist. Just more of an exception than the rule type is all. Altuve, while small, has mighty big shoes to try to fill
Mookie Betts: 5/9 180lbs hit 35 hrs last year. Depends on the player and body type.
Yep. It’s all about being able to generate bat speed.
Did you need to double down on exceptions to the rule? Jimmy Rollins. Mel Ott. They exist. But they typically don’t cap out at 21 home runs in Japan and come to the bigs and increase that power. I just don’t see a translation of pop here and without speed he needs to be able to hit the gaps or he becomes Luis Castillo.
Ok outta nowhere the Red Sox starting to be a threat.
Zaidi misses out on another player; an OF. Did Zaidi even make an attempt to sign Yoshida?
What players should’ve Zaidi signed?
I thought Bloom only moved this fast when he was telling players “perdón , no mas Dinero”
Genuine question, but why does Bloom get so much hate from Sox fans? He doesn’t set payroll, ownership does.
As a Red Sox fan, it is because many of us are very stupid
As a Red Sox fan, it is because many of us are very stupid
———————
Amen to that brother. It’s amazing how many RS fans believe we are a small-market team.
It’s the moves he makes. And, how he uses the the payroll money he has.
It’s a long subject to get into, but, he took a ws-caliber roster, and, spent the money he had free chasing reclamation projects and buying low level prospects by taking bad contracts.
Instead of trading controllable stars, he let them sit wasting control by not spending on proven talent while not actively trying to improve the mlb club. So, instead of getting something for the valued asset, he got nothing.
Meanwhile, he churned the roster with transaction after transaction blowing 1,2,5m at a time and getting negative production out of it. Each time he missed on a transaction, it was more money wasted.
Wouldn’t commit to a quick retool/rebuild, just said one thing and did another while making contradictory moves one after another. Just like last year’s deadline.
Then youve got the failures to extend young stars, and insulting faces of the franchise. He was also good however at insulting the clubhouse and torpedoing player morale.
As I said elsewhere, he was like a guy you gave your money to bet in a casino. He runs around the penny slots, winning 5 times in a hundred. Then, claims he’s a winner even though he lost way more money than he got.
If you needed to summarize bloom, it would be inept and treating the fan base as if they’re idiots.
Well said, GA!
because a lot of Sox fans tend to be ignorant and want a scapegoat. Pretty much it.
Yeah that’s it! Not that we’re so dedicated and pay so close attention that we acrually analyze and scrutinize every transaction from big time FA signings to dealing Vazquez for prospects appearing to signal a sell off before pivoting and acquiring Hosmer. Destroying morale in the process but for some reason also not trading just $3M more in salary to duck under the luxury tax line!!!
if half the fans paid as close attention as you claim you’d actually be right.
RCT – Bloom has performed badly as the GM. Don’t blame ownership since Bloom spent over the $20MM higher CAP in 2022. He’s wasted more money that most teams do in a decade in just 3 years.
Medium money for bad players isn’t a winning strategy as proven by the losing record. I keep going back to Dombrowski being 104 games over ..500 in less than 4 years and Bloom starting with a championship team is now 4 games over .500 in 3 years. It’s a pathetic performance. Facts don’t lie. He’s terrible at his job and ownership has given him all the money he’s asked for.
there is so much wrong this I don’t even know where to begin. The majority of the fans that complain about Bloom on this site him as being cheap (clearly false) then there are people like you who claim that the money he has spent has also been poorly (some merit but mostly false). Lastly saying he inherited a championship team is ridiculous when in their last season the sox were barely a .500 team showing obvious signs of decline.
You can say facts don’t lie but you actually have to use facts when making your argument.
he inherited a championship team is ridiculous when in their last season the sox were barely a .500 team showing obvious signs of decline.
===========================
Many RS fans simply don’t know anything about the team. We were an 84-win team when Bloom took over, with the highest payroll. in baseball. That’s pretty weak. Most RS fans don’t know this.
Yeah, I guess injuries and giving the starters spring training off had nothing to do them being an 84 win team.
It’s also funny how fans think it wasn’t so bad that they finished in last place this year with 78 wins because they wouldn’t have been in last in other divisions but now 84 wins is awful.
84 wins isn’t awful; but that isn’t championship. It’s funny how fans are willing defend a declining team in 2019 and bring up injuries yet fail to mention that when discussing last years team…
Given the huge difference in health between this team and the 2019 team, this team was much, much better.
He started with a championship team? When? Where? Why wasn’t I told?
Unfortunately Joe, you’re wrong again.
The 2018 Red Sox WERE world series CHAMPS. Maybe you missed it. In free agency they didnt lose much.
In 2019, their manager screwed up ST. They got off to a horrible start as a result. Then, they played at a w/l percentage among the best in the league once they finally got going.
In the course of that season you saw things like Pierce injured. Sale pitching hurt. Eovaldi injured. Price injured. Sure there were other injuries of note, but 60% of the rotation went down, one, porcello, had the worst season of his career. Still the roster managed a winning season in spite of it all.
Bloom inherited this roster. Aside from an injury bug, still loaded with WS caliber talent and young players. What then, traded mookie and botched that. Trading mookie alone would net a bigger return than attaching price, AND, trading mookie alone would get them to reset the CBT penalties. Bloom screwed up both, lowered his return by attaching price for ruffling ecks feathers, then, screwed that up further by the whole graterol debacle, aside from the return selected anyways. Although, it should be noted, other things could be done to dive below the CBT than trade mookie, and, lip service from execs said they didn’t need to even trade mookie or get below cbt. If you look back, Bloom didn’t even put the savings from the portion of prices salary towards a single piece of value, wasting it on retreads and lottery ticket failed former prospects none of which panned out.
But, yes, most mlb execs would’ve loved to inherit the roster Bloom did. It just needed tweaking as all rosters do year to year, and, Bloom botched that. The fact that remaining pieces of that core were the driving forces in the unexpected 2021 playoff run should reinforce that for the knowledgeable fan.
So Joe, in your opinion the 2022 team which was much healthier, but, lost more games, is somehow better than the team that saw 60% of its SP injured, a career worst year out of one other about to be a FA with bad luck on babip, and yet THAT 2019 team that didn’t even get a proper ST STILL won more games?
Because that’s what you just said.
Because he contradicts himself, makes boneheaded moves and can’t decide which direction to steer the team. It has nothing to do with payroll. Henry said he can spend as long as it’s done wisely and up until now he hasn’t spent very wisely.
Great move for the Sox tbh. If they can sign Boegarts they might raise some eyebrows in the always competitive AL East.
5 for 105.4 including posting fee very solid signing for the RedSox!! No reason to think he can’t be a 300 plus hitter at this level and rake in the doubles department. Jeff Mcneil type hitter possibly?
There are alot of reasons to think he won’t.
Like what? That he’s hit .341 the past 3 seasons in Japan? Or that he walks twice as much as he strikes out?
Shogo had similar numbers and was a horrible bust
Even if he doesn’t quite hit 300 he’s a contact hitter that doesn’t strike out. His OBP is ridiculous. He knows how to get on base. .
What he doesn’t know how to do is catch a baseball.
He knows how to do all that in Japan. I’m reserving judgment until he performs
Realistically, how good is a 29 year old journeyman player from Japan who is known only for hitting for average. Will he be Wade Boggs playing left field? NOPE. Will he be Andrew Benintendi in LF in 2023? NOPE. Benny is a better hitter, a better fielder, a better base runner and costs LESS!!!
Dumb move but it goes to the smoke and mirrors that Bloom uses to sell his abysmal performance. Fans can buy into the hype just like his hype about the farm system, the hype about the NEW PLAN for continued success and all the other tall tails claimed by Bloom. This is no different. Lots of hype for a journeyman Japanese outfielder. who just got $19MM a year rather than the $12MM his numbers support.
Great move? NO WAY!
Journeyman pitcher from Japan? he played for one team while he was there. with the way you’re getting your facts twisted maybe you’re KD 17s new account
How can you possibly call him a “Journeyman”… either you just flat out do not understand what that phrase means or you aren’t looking at the right players statistics. This guy is a perrenial batting champion contender with possibly the best plate discipline in all of Japan.
Pulled is just a hater. If we just trade for Alvarez & Trout, he’d be complaining about that as well.
He’s KD17 a new screen name. Just like KD all he does is complain constantly about Bloom and thinks Devers is terrible.
I know, but I wanted to see someone else mention it first. Writing forensics is a great subject. People would be surprised to see how difficult it is to disguise your writing.
Aceil10 – Journeyman pitcher from Japan? My post says journeyman player not pitcher. I’ve read your ignorant comments all the time and I often wonder if you simply don’t comprehend the game or you are intentionally misleading people with your comments.
Whoever this 17 guy is obviously you must not have liked him much. My gut is that he’s someone who accurately assessed how bad Bloom is. From reading other comments about him I assume he hated Cora. I’ve said next to nothing negative about Cora. So, is every new person on this site a clone of this 17 guy because he hates the job Bloom has done?.
Do you realize how badly Bloom is hated by long time fans who see what Dombrowski has done for Philly? My hats off to anyone blasting Bloom. He deserves it.
Going to check the archives to see what your issue was with this guy. He must have pointed out your lack of baseball knowledge although most people say that every time you write something!
Ah you got me “not KD” I meant to write player no pitcher but shouldn’t distract from your complete misuse of that descriptor. It’s too bad you didn’t use your sabbatical to get a clue or learn anything about the game of baseball.
Obviously not everyone is a clone but when a person uses the exact same writing style( in this case overly long nonsensical, and totally illogical prose) that display a dizzying lack of baseball knowledge at any level and whining about a commenter being ignorant when they accurately point out how wrong you are it certainly points to that conclusion.
Happy to break the ice on that one Joe and point out the obvious. And not for nothing writing forensics does sound interesting.
acell10 – I have noticed a trend while reading your comments. You try to argue with people that are far more knowledgeable about baseball than you are by suggesting you are the knowledge baseball fan. You must realize nobody is buying it. You are a buffoon and everyone know it when it comes to talking baseball.
In the future, use your mute if you can’t take the truth. Or maybe just continue earning your money and spreading Bloom BS throughout the website. It doesn’t matter to me because your comments are always insults and never provide any facts to back them up. You are a petty person who has no clue how to debate topics in an open forum.
You are just here to troll the writers who dislike Bloom and that’s more than a full time job. I laugh at the fact that you use words like prose in hopes people don’t recognize you to be the uneducated blowhard that you are.
Please keep commenting, it’s always worth a laugh!!
It took you a week to come up with ridiculously unfunny response? Jeez KD17 that’s a lot of real estate you’re letting me occupy in your brain rent free..
I can’t remember the last time one of these hitters from Asia panning out for over one season. It seems like a risky investment for such a spotty track record of hitters in the NPB.
He a smol boi too
Ohtani!
He’s exactly like Ohtani, except he doesn’t pitch, and I doubt he’ll hit more than 2 homers per 100 ABs, so maybe not Ohtani
no one compared him to Ohtani. It was just the most obvious answer to OP saying he couldn’t remember the last hitter from Asia panning out after one season
Ichiro and Matsui to name a couple Jury is still out on Suzuki but all things considered he a had solid rookie season.
Except for the injury, Suzuki had a solid season. I’d trade for that contract today, if it was available.
Shin-Soo Choo
I know you weren’t trying to be racist or anything not accusing you of that at all… but also for reference Choo was from Korea. Also he weirdly never played in Korea (or Japan) until after playing in MLB. He was signed as an 18 year old amateur FA.
the OP said Asian players.
For every Ichiro there is a Fukudome. For every Hidecki Matsui there is a Kaz Matsui. The pitching seems to translate a bit better than hitting but when they translate, they are damn good. We just need to see how he plays out. To me, he either learns to find the gaps and becomes a doubles machine or he struggles. Top HR year was low twenties in Japan. Not likely to hit that mark in the bigs.
Finally! A Red Sox move I can believe in. However, was kinda hoping the Mariners would have snagged him.
I’m a Jays fan. Seems like this might be good for the sox tho. He is supposed to be a night great fielder so playing under the monster half his games should be a blessing
A not great fielder***
I looked at his stats recently and he has been DH’ing (apparently… only shows games played and OF games played on baseball reference) about 2/3 of the time. I wonder if the Sox are planning on him being LF or DH. Seems like a lot of $ for DH but if he’s really anywhere near a .285-.300
I looked at his stats recently and he has been DH’ing (apparently… only shows games played and OF games played on baseball reference) about 2/3 of the time. I wonder if the Sox are planning on him being LF or DH. Seems like a lot of $ for DH but if he’s really anywhere near a .285 -.300 / .370+ OBP hitter it’s still worth it. Only issue is then they’d still need another OF
One of the things that the RS have lacked recently have been lumbering LFers. Having a glove is always useful, but we were pretty good when we put guys like Manny & Bay with their back to the Wall.
I’d go so far as to say Crawford was a big de-railer when the correct guy for us to pursue probably would’ve been Josh Willingham. The Monster should alleviate some of the fielding concerns.
Exactly my thought too. I’m a bit surprised. Dipoto’s latest comments were a bit lukewarm on the guy, which was telling to me. I think they wanted more D than he has shown. Just my read tho.
Perhaps the Mariners pivot to local kid Michael Conforto to play left field ???
I wish I had some good d rn :/
That’s the kind of deal that gets you fired
Well, there’s two things to hope for then. He rakes. And it’s great for the team.
Or, he bombs, and, it’s enough to finally fire bloom – it’s STILL great for the team.
That’s a win-win if I ever heard one.
Wasn’t expecting this one
I wasn’t expecting to get divorced and move to Alaska from NYC but here I am!
Got some friends in AK, man. I don’t know how you guys tolerate it up there…. They like it though.
I can tolerate it because I named my johnson Albert Belle and all the Alaskan hunnies love me. Fr no cap.
This could free up a trade of Alex Verdugo to the White Sox.
We’ll take him off your hands
Red Sox run out of balls and need a bucket?
Doogie probably stays, unless more OF’s are added. As things stand, he Hernandez and this Yoshida only “real” OF on the roster worth anything.
I wish someone would make a trade.Good old fashion blockbuster would be nice.
Definitely not. Unless the Sox are planning on getting another OF this brings them up to 3 OFs. And dropping $50M on relievers is a pretty clear sign they’re trying to compete
But then they would need another OF to replace him. Right now they have 2/3 depending on if Hernandez is CF or 2B/SS if they don’t resign Bogaerts. Also this guy could wind up a DH candidate (not entirely known for his defense). So I have no issue with the concept of trading Verdugo in a bubble… if you did then you’d need to replace him (and possibly add a 2nd) on the OF.
THE ROOF IS ON FIRE
An Aruban shortstop better be next
Love the BB/SO ratios. OBP machine.
The good thing is the Sox can stash him in LF to help make up his defensive shortcomings.
Bullpen is looking good. An OF bat they desperately needed. Now sign Bogey…
And extend Devers
Kinda funny how things are. Yesterday Bloom was almost a pariah after losing out on major additions. Today he’s added a closer, a possible star, and Bogaerts is no longer a lost cause.
What was so concerning was that there were no rumors surrounding the Sox. It lead fans to assume they were not going to be in on any big names. In hindsight its probably a good thing that they prevent leaks so effectively. However, it does make for a frustrating waiting period and causes folks in Boston to assume the worst.
I try to tell RS fans this all the time. It’s not just Bloom, but no decent GM ever talks about who they are chasing. Not ever. Cashman probably told Judge to give him a call when he finished with all the other GMs. That’s all.
Chaim Bloom delivers the goods finally!!!!
Of course he signed him on the anniversary of Pearl Harbor
On base machine, new leadoff hitter
If they’re okay with lack of speed… apparently this guy really isn’t a threat on the bases.
He’s a threat to steal the hearts of Red Sox fans with his passionate at bats <3
I feel like this is a big risk
Admittedly I’m not too familiar with international leagues and his numbers look great, but there’s a long track record of international professionals coming to the mlb and not doing well. He could turn out to be great, but at 18 a year I find it risky. Time will tell!
there’s also an equally long track record of international signings coming to the MLB and doing well.
Suzuki outhit Moshida from 2019-2021 and is two years younger. Seiya didn’t exactly light the league on fire. Plus Moshida is a LF/DH type. Though left handed contact hitters usually do well in Fenway, this feels like a huge overpay.
He didn’t exactly out hit him… he had more power but Moshida’s Average and OBP were higher.
Maybe that will play. We’ll see.
Modest upgrade at least they did something nice for the Red Sox. I think Verdugo is gone.
Why? Verdugo isn’t great, but who would the Sox play instead of him? Jarren Duran sucks, and Rob Refsnyder is a good bench piece but nothing more. Unless they’re gonna add another outfielder (and there aren’t a lot of them left), I think it’s pretty clear that Verdugo – Hernandez – Yoshida is the plan
Trading him for an upgrade.
People severely undervalue Verdugo. Dude hot 39 doubles last year while hitting .280 He doesn’t seem to quite have the power people hoped he’d develop when he was younger but if you look at his swing he is better off driving the ball line to line then selling out for power. I also think he’s yet to reach his full potential… will he ever do it? Idk but I so believe he has the ability to improve his numbers
They now have a legit lead off hitter. .
Sort of… he does lack pretty much any base stealing ability. Personally in an ideal world I think he’d be a 2 hitter with someone fast in leadoff. Having said that traditional batting orders have been going out the window recently and without a genuine speedster on the current Sox Roster (who can also consistently get on base)… he just may be the answer.
Now re-sign Bogey and sign Senga, plz.
Okay, so the dude can get on base. Now just need somebody to drive him in.
Red Sox found their DH. Paid a premium for him too.
Yep, just what Boston needed yet another bad fielder. Put him with Devers and the left side of the field is a disaster with or without Bogaerts. A bad 3B and a bad LF on defense is not a winning proposition.
Bloom failed once again and wasted $19MM for half a decade for a guy who can’t play defense on a team filled with guys who can’t play defense. If only the rules would change and 9 DHs could bat and there was no defense.
It worked for the Phillies. People were saying similar thongs about them after they signed KS and NC last year and they ended up in the world series.
Boys, We did It. Bloom has made my day back to great after seeing Judge re-sign with New York
My day was great because Judge is back in NY.
1) that’s a ton of money and ton of years paired with an aging Stanton.
2) did you read the report on the different baseballs being used at Yankee stadium while judge was chasing 61? That won’t continue and some of those number are going to regress.
I still wish he was a Giant
Idk, he is pretty tall
Tsuyoshi Shinjo vibes
It’s a gamble. The Japanese players with high ceilings like Ohtani and Matsui many years ago are sure fire bets but this guy may or may not translate
The hope is for a less injury prone Nimmo. Great. Can he play right? Verdugo is not a great fit there, if he is still going to be here in March.
He definitely cannot play right in Fenway. He seems like a good guy to hide in front of the monster though. His biggest problem is he doesn’t have an arm, and Fenway cuts guys like that a big break (Andrew Benintendi is a good example, though a better fielder overall)
Hey Anthony, Yoshida is not an OF. His defense makes Scwarber and Winker look like Grisham or Varsho by comparison.
If they actually put him in LF in Fenway I am looking forward to that -20 r worse OAA and DRS on the leaderboards next season.
If he plays catch against a wall all offseason he’s going to be in fine shape.
Don’t be sore because SD lost out to so many guys in the last 24 hrs.
The Red Sox have had a great couple of days – provided they sign Xander it will be a happy winter.
What if they sign Correa instead?
There’s no way that’ll happen. But no one should complain about that
Yankees should have been aggressive on him, He seldom Ks and draws walks. All this and power from the left side. Good signing for Boston. They get better, the Astros get better, and the Yankees remain the same.
All true in Japan…..let’s see how he does in the AL where he’ll face consistently better pitching against him….also, while his questionable defense may not play as badly with the 283 ft Green Monster, LF at Yankee Stadium is a whole other deal……potentially a good signing by Boston…only time will tell.
BrightSide – I’m confused about the power from the left side. A guy who played his 20s in Japan against weaker pitching is coming to the US to play against better pitching at age 29 when his decline will begin and his peak HR year was 29 HRS nearly half a decade ago.
You read this guys stats and see power? Where? The data doesn’t show that. It shows a high average batter who walks a lot. He might make for a lead off hitter in Boston since they haven’t had one since Bloom threw Mookie into the trash but he’s a bad defender with no speed. Being on base is great but without Bogaerts and JD he better hope Devers homers behind him otherwise he’s going to be on first base when the inning is over too!
Rusney Castillo II
i’m sure the wrote the same, not expecting him to continue this trend, about ichiro suzuki. see how that went.
My man Robbie Hyde is gonna be pumped.
The Giants can’t even sign any of the Japanese ball players? You would think with the large Asian community in the Bay Area, they’d be able to sign a few?
never playing in more than 140 games in the league. checking in at around 120 per. he’s averaged arox 21 hrs and a 335 avg. the past few. now he’s coming in on the flip side of 30 and will be facing better pitching.. did i mention he’s a midget as well.
first time through he could excellent. but what are we looking at here?, best case scenario, 15 ding dongs and 300 average. worst case…..9/11 hr and what 275?
congrats redsox you have benny back again for 20mil x5years
I’m of the same pessimistic mindset, but holding out hope for some upside to poke through.
Then again, I never thought Benny should be traded either.
not gonna lie. yoshida might look pretty good on those mid 80’s cardinal teams hitting between herr and mcgee..
Ken – Awesome comment. $19MM for a player nowhere near as good as Benny who is available for less money.
Makes no sense whatsoever. But then again batting Kike lead off and Devers second makes no sense at all either.
Frankly, I find it hard to make sense of much since Dombrowski was fired.
Interesting guys on MLB Network saying he has no power. I don’t know still think his power will show up. He will not hit as many HRs but also playing in the band boxes out there he might be fine.
The other thing is he was posted at 6am est time this morning. Not a few days ago. Did the Red Sox contact him early or get him in and he took the first contract? Must have been the place he wanted and liked the deal.
Oh and congrats Boston will be fun to see if works out or not. There were questions about Ichiro too I think he did OK. Didn’t hit for power but was a single double machine guy.
Ichiro was the best right fielder in MLB. If Boston gets 1/2 of that it’s a score. Ichiro was one of the best baseball players to put on cleats
Watching a show on him on DAZN Japan. The guy collects MLB memorabilia. He has a Yaz jersey and signed bat prominently displayed. There were a couple of signed photos that looked to be Carlton Fisk walkoff home run and Big Papi. I think he is a Red Sox fan.
Wondering if Contreras would’ve been the better signing for the years/dollars. Fills a critical position, too.
Thoughts…?
Padam – Great comment. Over paying for a bad version of Andrew Benintendi versus solidifying the Catcher position for half a decade is pure stupidity.
what’s pure stupidity is that take. For all the time you just spent ranting and raving about defense, you’d rather the Sox spent 5 years at 85 million on Contreras (a poor defender at a much more critical position) who’s already in decline offensively at the most physically demanding position in the field.
aceil10 – Not a knowledgeable baseball fan are you? WOW. Contreras is an all-star level catcher who can hit versus an untested foreign slap hitter? Contreras a poor defender?
Contreras made 4 errors in 2022. Heck, Devers can do that in a single game. Should we get rid of Devers the worst 3B in baseball using your argument about defense.
Next time come with facts not ignorance.
I would bring up things like pitch framing and defensive metrics but I’m sure you’ll crap all over that right not KD? The only stats that matter to you are stats like errors and fielding percentage while important not the be all end all. Do past balls matter in your world because he lead the league in them last year. if not I look forward to hearing your take on why that stat doesn’t matter. Just be sure to stretch out before the mental gymnastics you’ll have to do to justify that one so you won’t strain anything. Contreras best years offensively and otherwise are clearly behind him and I doubt he’ll spend the life of that contract at catcher.
Acell10 – since you write such convoluted stuff it’s hard to respond to your comments. Lets back track to my preference for Contreras over Yoshida.
You started ranting about passed balls (not past balls hahaha) and whether they matter. Yes they matter Lets see if Contreras has a high number compared to some excellent defensive catchers.
Johnny Bench was pretty good defensively. Do you agree? He had 94 passed balls in 17 seasons. That’s about 5.5 per season. Contreras has had 38 passed balls in 7 seasons. That’s slightly under the average for Bench. Hmmm, maybe your perception of the facts aren’t supported by real data!!!
Is that unusual? NOPE. This is why you shouldn’t make points you really don’t understand.
You claimed Conttreras’ best offensive years are clearly behind him. How crazy and wild is that accusation? hahaha Let’s look at the facts.
Contreras’ history of OPS+
2016 age 24 – OPS+ 122
2017 – 118
2018 – 94 (clearly had an off year)
2019 – 127
2020 – 106 (short season only 57 games played)
2021 – 109
2022 – 128
Hmmmm doesn’t it appear his numbers are trending upward? Wouldn’t that contradict your theory that his best years are behind him?
See this is exactly what I’m talking about in dealing with you. You spent lots of time insulting me and comparing me to someone else as if that’s a bad thing then you make ridiculous comments that are unsubstantiated and you don’t understand why people don’t respect your opinion.
Spend a few minutes validating that your outrageous takes on players are accurate before writing them. You’d look a lot less foolish.
Thanks for proving my point.
it’s funny that you’e calling me convoluted because hardly any of what you say makes any sense. but I must say you just couldn’t help yourself by responding. You’re trying to draw a trend and claiming that his OPS+ is rising (and excuse an off year because you felt like it) even though it’s been all over the map. He had a nice year last year but you’re if going to place caveats on certain seasons that’s just you trying to manipulate the data to make your own point which is disingenuous.
Secondly you are creating a straw man argument by comparing Contrares to bench. Are you actually going to try and sell me or anyone else that Contrares belongs in the same conversation as 10 time gold winner (who also by the way won all of them prior to age 30). from a defensive perspective based on one statistic alone? Of course not which was my point..
Spending 85 million on a player playing the most defensively and physically challenging position, one in which he was below average in fielding to begin with and one where he will probably have to move off of first two to three years and who’s value largely comes from the fact he plays that position is not a sound investment.
I like McGuire & Wong at minimum wage, StL doesn’t make many mistakes, but Contreras doesn’t look like a guy playing catcher in 5 years.
let alone three
I love it when you guys agree. The opposite must be true!! hahaha
Don’t know much about him but like that we made a deal
Boston took a chance. Very commendable. I like how people say Judge is a risk. Verlander is a risk. Throw 100 million at a guy that plays in Japan. There is only 1 Ichiro. Only 1 Matsui. Let’s not start praising the Red Sox for a guy that can be a complete flop.
Welcome to dead ball U.S.A., or until they change the ball again. They have three now, how about 4 ? At least Boston is not a huge park, but still trying to compare leagues and countries with M.L.B. changing the balls is stupid. Price of baseball players has gone up, but so has the prices I pay for groceries.
They are chamging the shape of the ball to look like a Tic Tac.
Whoa…way too much. Hope he doesn’t turn out to be a Shogo Akiyama!
pukin A man.
I so wanted this guy.
begrudgingly …… a very good move.
Wow. So Nimmo is about to get paid-paid huh?
Yes. And so will Benintendi.
Yoshida Sauce from Costco is pretty good. Good move Sox.
@VonPurpleHayes Yes, but we have ZERO home run power, aside from Polar Pete
We could use a power outfield bat, since Nimmo might be going anyway (he had no power anyway)
Still the weakest Red Sox line up I’ve ever seen. Got a lot of work to do.
It is? 9th most runs in MLB last year. It looks like a better lineup than that one.
As someone who watches lots of NPB, glad he got a chance; not sure how he is going to play over here. I like his bat but I think he is a step behind Seiya. Now, hopefully one day we can see Yamamoto who would be a big impact guy over here and the big fish in there NPB pond and in a few years Roki could come over.
Adam Jones described Yoshida as the Juan Soto of Japan, although he cautioned he didn’t mean he’d hit like Juan Soto if he came to MLB. Simply acknowledging how great he is in Japan.
Interesting signing. Could pay off big. Nice, compact swing. High contact. He’s very small (not Altuve small!), but his swing does seem to have pop to RF. If he can master hitting to left and target the wall, the Red Sox might have a good one. They just bet nearly $100MM, so they must believe in him.
How does the posting thing work? I thought teams submit bids? And then have a window to negotiate.
it’s changed now so that the player has more say over their destination. It’s pretty much like free agency except teams have to pay a posting fee
Think of it like signing a free agent who rejected a qualifying offer. Only instead of forfeiting a draft pick the signing team pays the Japenese team a fee based on the value of the contract.
I’ve noted some anti-Bloom commentary around here lately, so I’m wondering if people are feeling better about him with his recent moves.
I really wanted the Mariners to sign Yoshida but I thought we’d be getting a good value, maybe 13-14 mill a year. Since Yoshida doesn’t provide any defense or speed, 90 mill (18/yr) seems like a bit of a gamble. I’m confident that he’ll hit, I’m just not sure if he’ll hit THAT much. Still, I’m excited to see him play and left field at Fenway doesn’t require a lot of range so it might work out.
On to Conforto now!!! Local kid for left field in T-Mobile Park.
But, but, but, Chaims the worse
Very nice play by Chaim. Frees up Verdugo, perhaps to trade for a catcher.+.
Improves outfiield and overall offence.
So, so expensive. I mean, I really hope he’s good. But it seems like the best case scenario for him is maybe a Brandon Nimmo without the defense or a Mitch Haniger without the power/injuries. If that’s the case, why not go get one of those guys? At least they’re proven entities. Michael conforto is going to get a one year prove it deal. Is this guy THAT much better than a Conforto/Mancini type guy? Hope I’m wrong! Will be exciting to watch.
To be honest, I don’t know anything more than what could be looked up. A couple of things that I liked:
1-Yoshida is way, way better than other guys in the league, not just a little better.
2-We really needed OBP. The RS use to make bank on our high OBP. We’re still by no means bad, but as much as I like Kiki, he is not a lead-off hitter.
3-I’m not sure why folks are saying he has no power. It’s Japan, and I have no idea how it will translate, but he has 135 HRs in 2759 ABs. That’s 29 HRs/600 ABs. Even if that was cut in half, 15 HRs a year is probably enough to keep them from grooving fastballs.
If he can get on base consistently, he will always have a place in the MLB
Good. Now sign Xander and Senga, And trade for a decent SP in case somebody’s arm falls off in spring training
I don’t see him being a star or even an all star. Seems like a pointless move if they let Bogaerts walk.
“or even an all star”
Wow, incredible signing by the Sox! This guy could be the next Aki Iwamura or Shogo Akiyama! Incredible!
Yoshida was the guy I wanted the Sox to sign. A trade would force them to give up farm assets & this guy has bat to ball skills that are elite. Great move. Now go get Bogey
Guy’s too small. This will not begin or end well…..
Plenty of shorter players have had success. I don’t think I’d consider that a knock on him
How’d Ichiro do?
So it’s December and the Red Sox have
1 – Nobody at catcher (lost chance at Contreras)
2 – Casas/Dalbec at 1B for under $1MM each and Hosmer at $5.72MM
3 – Story at 2B for $23.33MM
4 – Story at SS for $23.33MM if they chose not to sign Bogaerts
5 – Devers at 3B for $11.2MM plus his arbitration uplift
6 – Yoshida at LF for $18MM
7 – Kike Hernandez at CF for $10MM
8 – Rob Refsnyder at RF for $1.2MM
9 – NO DH
Not a roster that threatens the other four teams in the division from a hitting perspective.
SP1 – Sale for $25.6MM
SP2 – Paxton for $4MM
SP3 – Pivetta for $2.65MM plus an arbitration uplift
SP4 – Houck for $0.67MM raised to the new league minimum
SP5 – To be determined with many minor league low cost options
Relievers
Closer
Jansen for $16MM
Set-up Pitchers
Barnes for $9.375MM
Chris Martin $8.75MM
Whitlock for $4.688MM
Joely Rodriguez for $2MM
Bloom spent over the $230MM cap in 2022 and finished last in the division.
Bloom has already spent enough money that he only has roughly $80MM under the CAP to field a competitive team. He has no catcher, no 3B if Devers moves to where he belongs at DH, no 2B or SS depending on Story and is weak at all outfield positions even after his latest acquisition. He needs at least two quality SPs and not many are left at this point so if he chooses to continue waiting, he will simply get two SPs not 2 quality SPs.
Nothing says 5th place louder than an unorganized GM who can’t figure out a long-term plan and stick to it. Impulse shopping is not a winning formula. Over paying for a Yoshida when Benny is available for less is not a winning formula.
The torment for Red Sox fans needs to end with the firing of Bloom. These owners ate over $100MM in bad salaries in the last decade, eating one year of Bloom is insignificant financially but should give Red Sox fans hope that turning around Bloom’s mistakes can be done quickly.
3 years and the team is 4 games over .500 after starting with a championship caliber team!!!
Bloom has crushed this organization with bad choices and they continue to happen!!
Where’s Verdugo? Arroyo? What about plugging in players from System into open spots?…
Once again it’s not just Bloom, it’s a combination of all the people involved in making the decisions. It the organizational philosophy that you have an issue with.
Cooperdooper7
Where’s Verdugo?
===========================
KD thinks Refsnyder is one of starting outfielders. That’s all you need to know.
Cooperdooper – It’s not the GM? Why have one then? Since his job definition is to find trade opportunities and free agents that will help the club and present them to ownership, how is it he skates free of blame for all his choices presented to ownership? That makes no sense.
The organizational philosophy is set by the GM. Think back to DD, Cherington and Theo. They set the tone and the results were on them. Now, suddenly, that situation disappears because Bloom supporters don’t want him to take the blame for 3 years of bad decision making?
It’s so typical of Bloom apologists to blame something other than Bloom. He came he stated his philosophies when hired, he didn’t execute them and ownership gave him more money than Dombrowski. This can’t be any clearer.
As far as Verdugo goes, you tell me. Right field? But he had to play left because he was so limited on defense that he couldn’t handle right field or center field. Now because Bloom added a guy who fields worse than Verdugo we are going to put him in the most challenging position in the ball park? Great thinking by Bloom and you. Arroyo was an overshight. His value to me is minimal so I simply forgot him. He’s a utility player who gets to start on a bad team. Should they get a real 2B if Story plays SS? Absolutely. Will Bloom see that and fix that? Absolutely not.
JoeBrady – must be friends with Acell10. That makes perfect sense!! hahaha
If I had a choice between Refsnyder or Verdugo to play right field I would choose Refsnyder. Do you even watch the games? Haven’t you seen how bad Verdugo is in left field, the easy field? He makes Renfroe look like a gold glover!!
I guess I should be honored you are trolling me like so many of the other knowledgeable writers on the site. Thanks.
Sox fans, go watch this video on the MLB site. I had the sound off, so I don’t know what their talking heads said, but I think you’ll enjoy the film of Yoshida. The man has pop.
mlb.com/video/masataka-yoshida-joins-red-sox?q=Con…
The man has “pop”? He hit 21 homers in Japan last year. This would project to about 15 homers in MLB. We just paid five-year, $90MM to a guy who will probably hit .260 with 15 homers, and who reportedly “doesn’t offer much defensive value”.
Just try’na give Sox fans something to smile about, prof.
Prof – Stats don’t lie and his stats DO NOT suggests “pop” or any other word meaning power. He’s a slap hitter who gets on base a lot. He’s more like Ichiro except without power or speed or defense. He just gets on base a lot but can’t steal and can’t defend.
If he’s an American ball player, he gets paid between $5MM and $10MM based on his OBP.. So Bloom paid double his actual value. Yes, the man who professes that cost benefit ratios are important in procuring players never actually uses them. This guys value is half or less than his cost!! Great, another Bloom addition while Bogaerts is going to play in San Diego. because Bloom didn’t want to overpay the home grown hero. He prefers to over pay insignificant outsiders. Great philosophy.
Next time you watch a video on a player consider what the marketer of that player is trying to show and recognize the “ugly side” of the player won’t be presented in that video.
That’s a lot of money for an unproven “AAAA” foreign player. Love seeing the RedSux making dumb moves!
Stick it in me please
Tempting
Make a move
As we all know, the better the Red Sox are, the better MLB is.
Saw that he has been making about 2.5mil/Year in the NPB. Not a bad pay raise.
Great move by the Red Sox. In the event that Alex Verdugo gets injured, they have a guy with the identical skill set to slot in.
His numbers are better than Tsuyoshi Shinjo. But Shinjo was cheap. lol
Hooefully he’s MASHataka Yo! Because the Sox hit just 155 HRs in 2022 & the NYY 254 & we lost power in X & JD…seems as if this guy is just there on D, no real speed or 30HR power…just the hit tool…um so we’re dumping 90mill for 5 years from age 29-34 for a 5’8″ hopefully Wade Boggs type Japanese guy? Ok…Let’s GO MASHataka YO! (no whammy, no Rusney, no Whammy, no Castillo) fingers crossed!
Baseballguru – Newsflash – Yoshida is a terrible defender too!! Personally, I think Bloom got him in hopes of playing DH so Devers can stay at 3B and continue to kill the pitching staff. But that’s just me. I really don’t understand anything Bloom does. Nor does he.
Sam Kennedy kept using “Masa” (not even half of his 1st name) instead of Yoshido San (the proper & expected way of business with Japanese people) I’m wondering if the Redsox have double-sided American & Japanese business cards to give out with both hands, from a black case, stored on the upper torso pockets, with a bow, and recieve them the same way & inspecting them & leaving the card on a table? It’s Yoshida San, Kennedy San! Get a clue!
Bad deal. We don’t know how it will translate to the MLB. Typically the MLB sees 75% of the production seen in Japan. A .750 OPS outfielder can be found anywhere. Heck, could have brought back Andrew Beintendi.