The Boston Red Sox still have few question marks to watch out for as the offseason quickly comes to a close.
We’re now just weeks away from pitchers and catchers reporting to Spring Training across the league. It’s been a long few months full of rumors, trades, and speculation. The Red Sox are in an intriguing place and very well could be better than they were when the 2025 season came to an end. Boston won 89 games and made the playoffs and although it lost Alex Bregman, the Red Sox have brought in Willson Contreras, Ranger Suárez, Sonny Gray, and Johan Oviedo.
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If the club could add one more infielder, that would be great, but a topic for another day. With the offseason quickly approaching its end, now is a time to start to think about who could make the roster — and who could miss out. The Athletic’s Jen McCaffrey made an intriguing observation while projecting the roster for Boston. McCaffrey said the team would “like to move” Masataka Yoshida, but had him on her projected roster off the bench.
What will Boston do?
“Wilyer Abreu, Roman Anthony, Jarren Duran, Ceddanne Rafaela,” McCaffrey wrote. “Bench: Masataka Yoshida. Triple A: Kristian Campbell. All offseason, the Red Sox have said they intended to keep four starting outfielders in Abreu, Anthony, Ceddanne Rafaela and Jarren Duran. The idea is that they find playing time by a mix of days off and rotating through the designated hitter spot. But that leaves even less playing time for Masataka Yoshida. Without Bregman, the Red Sox might consider pivoting toward trading one of these outfielders (Duran or Rafaela most likely) for an infield bat such as Isaac Paredes or Brendan Donovan.
“It’s not ideal, and the Red Sox would surely like to move Yoshida but have yet to find a suitor. Kristian Campbell started slow in winter ball in Puerto Rico, where he played exclusively in the outfield, but hit well over his final week there. The Red Sox still would like him to remain versatile and move to the infield, but for now, they’re sticking him in the outfield with the hope fewer distractions will help him find offensive rhythm again.”
Yoshida has two seasons left on his five-year, $90 million deal he signed with Boston. If the Red Sox could find a way to move his contract, it would be great. If not, the Red Sox should absolutely find a way to utilize his bat, which was one of the best in the club’s lineup down the stretch in 2025. If the Red Sox were to trade an outfielder in a deal for an infielder, that would make things easier at DH and open the door for the 32-year-old.
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