The Boston Red Sox and Japanese star OF Masataka Yoshida are reportedly in agreement on a 5-year, $90M dollar deal, per Jeff Passan. However, the deal will be worth a total of $105.4M due to the posting fee. Yoshida represents an impressive upgrade for Boston's outfield.
Passan shared an in-depth scouting report on Yoshida that is bound to excite Red Sox fans.
“Yoshida, 29, is an on-base machine who led Nippon Professional Baseball in OPS the last two seasons. His bat-to-ball skills are absolutely world-class: just 41 strikeouts in 508 plate appearances, with 80 walks. Only Luis Arraez had a lower strikeout rate in MLB last season,” Passan wrote on Twitter.
The Red Sox are aiming to bounce back following their 2022 forgettable season. They are just one year removed from reaching the ALCS and believe they can compete once again in 2023.
Boston is hoping to re-sign Xander Bogaerts as well. A recent report stated that the Red Sox and Bogaerts were in “heavy discussions.” But nothing has come to fruition as of this story's publication. Nevertheless, it seems likely that the Red Sox are on the verge of getting a deal done.
Boston also improved their bullpen by signing Kenley Jansen to a 2-year contract. Jansen's presence will add much-needed stability to the back end of the bullpen.
It will be interesting to see if they make any other high-profile moves this offseason. The Red Sox would benefit by adding one or two more starting pitchers. We will continue to provide updates on their free agency transactions.
ESPN Stats & Info shared some interesting updates on Yoshida's deal with the Red Sox.
Yoshida will be the second Japanese-born position player to play for the Red Sox. The other is current Dodgers manager Dave Roberts.
Yoshida's $90 million deal is the 2nd-largest free agent contract for a player signing out of Japan (Masahiro Tanaka, 7 years/$155M). https://t.co/81HFNI0sy2
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) December 7, 2022
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