The Boston Red Sox and manager Alex Cora made a major announcement on WEEI Radio on Thursday, selecting Rafael Devers, the club’s former third baseman, as the team’s full-time designated hitter for the 2025 MLB season. Early in spring training, Devers held a press conference and stated his intentions, stating that he intended to remain the Red Sox’s everyday third baseman.
However, with the advent of rookie Alex Bregman, who earned a Gold Glove Award at third base for the Houston Astros in 2024, Cora and his team chose to use this approach. With Bregman at third and Devers as designated hitter, one Red Sox player’s future with the team is uncertain.
Masataka Yoshida, who joined the Red Sox in 2023, has started 147 games as Boston’s designated hitter in 248 career games. Yoshida can also play outfield, but he is recovering from a right shoulder labral repair surgery performed in October. If Yoshida’s shoulder limits him in the outfield, his value as a Red Sox player will drop. Cora is unlikely to start him ahead of Devers on a regular basis.
That could be one reason Boston.com’s Conor Ryan believes the Red Sox will deal Yoshida this season. Ryan just shared his top ten predictions for the 2025 Red Sox. “In a smaller move, the Red Sox ultimately eat a majority of Masataka Yoshida’s contract and move him to a National League team in May,” Ryan pointed out. “Yoshida still holds value at the plate, but his defensive shortcomings and the need to give Devers the lion’s share of reps at DH limits his value.”
Yoshida is a solid hitter, with an OPS+ of 112 and only 52 strikeouts in 421 plate appearances in 2024, but his fielding falls short. His Baseball Savant page places the 31-year-old’s arm strength in the 52nd percentile and his spring speed in the 22nd percentile for 2023. With Yoshida gone, Cora’s work of finding him time in the lineup will become easier, and a huge number of at-bats will not be taken away from Devers or corner outfielders Wilyer Abreu or Rob Refsnyder.
