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The story
Multiple U.S. outlets, including Sports Illustrated, have reported in unison that a trade is increasingly likely this offseason for Red Sox outfielder Masataka Yoshida (32). In his rookie MLB season of 2023, he hit .289 with 15 home runs and 72 RBIs, but injuries and shrinking playing time have followed ever since. On 5ch’s Nanademo Jikkyo (“Live Coverage”) board, posters piled on citing stats like fWAR to highlight his decline, comparing him to past NPB-to-MLB players like Tsuyoshi Shinjo and So Taguchi, flagging his defensive struggles, and calling for a return to NPB (Japan’s pro league).
Multiple U.S. media outlets report in unison that a trade for Masataka Yoshida is “increasingly likely” this offseason — the world’s biggest sports magazine explains it’s “simply because there’s less money left on his contract”
Is his departure unavoidable? Sports Illustrated, the world’s biggest sports magazine, ran a feature titled “Is Masataka Yoshida’s Rollercoaster Red Sox Tenure Ending This Offseason?” Multiple U.S. outlets have reported together that a trade now looks likely for the 32-year-old outfielder.
The magazine prefaced its report by noting: “Unfortunately, Yoshida hasn’t been able to carry his production in Japan over to the majors. He did hit .289 with 15 home runs and 72 RBIs in his 2023 rookie season, but since then his role has never been settled, and he’s been plagued by repeated injuries.”
Source: news.yahoo.co.jp / Original article here
What people said
2023: 0.8
2024: 0.9
2025: 0.0
2026: 0.4
Wow, he's really crushing it (sarcasm)
Yoshida's genuinely bench-level, like some guy fresh off a minor-league call-up
At an $8M salary this would've been forgivable
But Boston offered him double that — even his own agent Boras must be stunned, lol
↑You get idiot fanboys saying this all the time, but of course a player gets ripped on when he's not performing to his contract
Well, I guess if you call Yoshida as unaccountable as [Anthony] Rendon, that's that
I think players bear some responsibility for producing results that match their contract
Can't hit at Fenway
Can't field at Fenway
Still, even the scouts probably didn't see it getting this bad
He just clogs a roster spot, so only a handful of teams would even want him
That'd be the Tigers or the Giants
…the Japanese ones
Mune(rin) can play multiple infield spots decently and run okay, so he's still more usable
He could do a lot better than that
…back in Japan
Go back to your old team, the Hawks
A shocking zero barrels — can't expect much from his bat anymore either…
He was incredible back in Japan, how did it come to this…
Since he's only an average hitter in a platoon role anyway
If it were a one-year, $2M deal this would be acceptable
Well, if it actually were a one-year contract he'd have gone back to Japan ages ago
That's probably real
Just staying in MLB for 5 years nets a decent pension
He might cling to a roster spot no matter what next season
It's now clear they can't hold up through a real MLB season
Health really is everything
True
MLB and NPB run roughly the same length season, but MLB has about 20 more games
Yoshida's contributing less than a minor-league-deal bench player
If I recall, Shinjo's rookie-year WAR alone beats Yoshida's career WAR
Can't really defend that
Taguchi went to MLB at 33, stuck around for 8 years until he was 40, and somehow his career MLB OPS beat his NPB OPS — what a freak
Guess he's got no choice but to come back to Rakuten
They did play him all season in year one and he put up a 0.8 fWAR
Yoshida just didn't produce, and lost playing time as a natural result
There's clearly a big gap between NPB and MLB, and Yoshida just couldn't clear it
Between the defense, average fastball velocity, the sharpness of MLB breaking balls, and everything else — NPB was probably his ceiling
Isn't the hitting not that different, though?
Okamoto has a roster spot because his third-base defense is just slightly below MLB average, which is playable
Can that really not be fixed with practice?
Can't blame people, given the numbers he put up
The team's to blame for signing a deal like that
Even Boras was shocked they said yes right away
The team's contract decision and Yoshida getting ripped on for producing absolutely nothing are separate issues
Of course a player who can't hit, field, or run gets criticized
Since he's got nothing but his bat, [Seiya] Suzuki was treated like the last guy who could actually make that profile work in MLB
If he makes a manly return to the Carp, I'll root for him
Lee Jung-hoo got overrated the same way
And people are still going on about [Teruaki] Sato's strikeout totals too
I thought the modern MLB mindset had updated to 'strikeouts are fine if you hit for power' — so why is this still an issue…
Just look at the mess Murakami became in the second half once pitchers figured him out — high strikeout totals are clearly a negative in NPB too
Background and Key Points of This Discussion
Masataka Yoshida moved to the Red Sox on a large multi-year contract after the 2022 season, bringing with him an NPB batting title and Triple Crown pedigree as he took on the challenge of MLB. Given the size of that contract, he’s a player who tends to draw harsher scrutiny whenever a season goes by without matching production. Opinions in the thread split between those blaming the team’s handling and usage of him, and those holding Yoshida himself responsible for not living up to his contract. One point worth keeping in mind: while his low strikeout rate was highly valued in NPB, MLB tends to put more weight on power and defense, and that gap in evaluation standards came up repeatedly as context for his decline. Statistical comparisons with past NPB-to-MLB players like Tsuyoshi Shinjo and So Taguchi were also raised as a way to put Yoshida’s current situation into perspective.
*This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Nanademo Jikkyo) thread “[Good News] Masataka Yoshida May Finally Find a Trade Taker — Clearance Sale!“
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