Red Sox to sign Japanese outfielder Masataka Yoshida
SAN DIEGO — It’s not the move Red Sox fans have been waiting for, but for the first time in years they made a franchise-altering free-agent signing that will completely change the way they look on the field.
Masataka Yoshida, the Japanese star who has the best plate approach in Nippon Professional Baseball and should immediately slot into the top of the Red Sox batting order, agreed to sign with Boston on a contract that will pay him $90 million over the next five years, according to multiple reports on Wednesday evening.
The Red Sox will also have to pay Yoshida’s club, the Orix Buffaloes, a posting fee of more than $15 million, bringing the total commitment beyond $105 million.
With that, Yoshida is the most expensive position player ever to make the leap from Japan to MLB.
There’s no doubt that it’s a huge risk for the Red Sox, who have committed more than $100 million to only two different players in the last five years: Trevor Story and now Yoshida.
Yoshida earned it with a remarkable season for the Buffaloes in 2022, when he had a stunning .449 onbase percentage while walking 82 times to just 42 strikeouts, numbers unlike anything the Red Sox have seen since Dustin Pedroia and Kevin Youkilis were in their prime.
And while he doesn’t possess the power of Seiya Suzuki, who previously held the record for largest contract by a Japanese position player after the Cubs guaranteed him $85 million last year, Yoshida slugged a career-high 29 homers in 2019 and has averaged more than 20 home runs per season over the last five years.
He projects as an immediate leadoff hitter with gap-to-gap doubles power who should run into a handful of home runs, too. He’s not considered a great defensive player, which means he’ll probably take over in left field, but the Sox appear comfortable with Kiké Hernandez as their center fielder and, for the time being, Alex Verdugo in right field.
But as the offseason goes along, it wouldn’t surprise anybody to see the Sox find a trade for Verdugo, who has shown only flashes of elite potential without putting it together over a full season.
The Sox still need a righthanded power bat, which they’ve been craving after narrowly missing out on Jose Abreu, who signed with the Astros, and Mitch Hanniger, who signed with the Giants, but they now have Yoshida, Rafael Devers, Hernandez and Triston Casas who offer impact potential as left-handed hitters.
And at some point later this year, we’ll compare the numbers from Yoshida to those of Brandon Nimmo, a 29-year-old free agent outfielder with a similar plate approach, but one who is better defensively and has a career .385 on-base percentage as a proven hitter with the New York Mets. Nimmo is expected to command north of $100 million as well, but the Red Sox are instead taking a gamble on a 5-foot-8 outfielder from Japan.
The Red Sox deserve credit for jumping in and snagging an elite talent off the free agent board.
This is a guy they’ve badly needed over the last few years.
Ever since Mookie Betts was traded to the Dodgers before the 2020 season, the Sox have been pathetic out of the leadoff spot. Their .312 OBP from the leadoff spot ranks 25th in baseball, and it’s had a notable impact on the team’s inability to be consistent offensively.
Manager Alex Cora spent most of the 2022 season publicly demanding his players to take a smarter, more patient plate approach, but he rarely saw returns.
“You have to control the strike zone,” he said at the Winter Meetings on Monday. “Not saying we’re getting back to ’03, ’04, ’05, we can have five-hour games, grinding our bats and all that stuff. But I think if you work the count to your advantage and you can take advantage of certain counts, you’re going to be OK.”
Now the Red Sox have one of the best ever to control the zone in Japan, and at a reasonable salary of about $18 million per year.
That would bring the Sox’ expected payroll to around $175 million, still far away from the $233 million luxury tax threshold.
It’s also worth noting that Red Sox Chief Baseball Officer Chaim Bloom said at the Winter Meetings this week there is no particular number in mind, and it seems as though the Sox would be willing to go over the threshold for a second straight year, as long as it makes sense to do so.
After an offseason in which Bloom has been displaying a level of patience that has been testing Red Sox fans ever since his arrival in 2019, the Sox had their most important day of acquisitions in almost five years.