Red Sox announce Masataka Yoshida has undergone successful right shoulder surgery
FOXBORO -- Red Sox designated hitter Masataka Yoshida is on the mend this offseason after undergoing right shoulder surgery, the team announced Wednesday.
Yoshida underwent a successful procedure for a "right shoulder labral repair" back on Oct. 3, which was performed at Massachusetts General Hospital, the team revealed Wednesday. The Red Sox provided no recovery timetable, but Mass Live's Chris Cotillo reported Wednesday that Yoshida should be ready for spring training, citing a source. But that will depend on Yoshida's recovery, according to Cotillo.
Yoshida said before the end of the regular season that the shoulder had been nagging him since the spring, but it didn't cause him to miss any significant time in 2024. He did miss 37 games with a left thumb strain though, and appeared in only 108 games during his second season in Boston.
Boston didn't get a very productive season out of Yoshida in the DH spot, as he hit .280 with 10 homers, 21 doubles, 56 RBI, and 45 runs scored. But he hit just .192 against lefties and was essentially a platoon DH by season's end.
After playing 713.1 innings in left field as a rookie in 2023, Yoshida was seen as a liability in the field heading into last season. He played only one inning in left field in 2024, and that was only because the team was in a pinch.
We'll see what the future now holds for the 31-year-old Yoshida, who is signed through the 2027 season at $18.6 million per season. There were some rumblings that Boston could look to move Yoshida this winter, but his offseason surgery will complicate any trade talks for the Boston DH.
