The Boston Red Sox are hoping for a turnaround in the 2023 MLB season after a letdown 2022 campaign in which they did not just miss the postseason cut but also finished at the bottom of the American League East division. With Rafael Devers back and Japanese superstar Masataka Yoshida coming over to Beantown, Red Sox fans have reason to feel a little bit optimistic about their team.
Masatka is set to make his debut in the big leagues in 2023, and it will be up to Red Sox manager Alex Cora to decide where outfielder would best fit in the team's batting order.
“Alex Cora says Red Sox hope to split up Yoshida and Devers in lineup. So don’t expect Devers to hit second,” reports Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com.
Back in the 2022 MLB season, Devers mostly hit second in the batting order, doing so in 103 games. He batted third in 13 other times and fourth in 24 games. With Masatka in the fold, it seems that Cora is going to let Devers increase his usage somewhere else in the batting order. Powered by Devers' brilliance at the plate, the Red Sox managed to finish the 2022 season second overall in the majors with a .291 batting average in the second spot of the batting order. That same year, Devers slashed .295/358/.521 with 27 home runs and 88 RBI across 614 plate appearances.
Yoshida, on the other hand, had tremendous success in Japan before agreeing to join the Red Sox. In 762 games played for the Orix Buffaloes, Yoshida hit .327 to go with a .421 OBP and a .539 slugging percentage along with 133 homers and 467 RBI.
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