The Boston Red Sox offense has been nothing if not inconsistent. At first glance, the 4.92 runs per game the Red Sox have scored places them along the MLB elite, ranking sixth overall.
But a closer look reveals that Boston had scored double-digit runs in 14 of the 91 games the team has played going into Monday. In those 14 games, the Red Sox have put up a total of 164 runs. In the Red Sox’s other 77 games, Boston bats have averaged just 3.69 runs.
Put it this way: In 85 percent of Red Sox games this year, they have the 25th-ranked offense in baseball. In the other 15 percent, they have been the best offense in MLB — by a lot.
On Monday, Red Sox manager Alex Cora delivered an announcement that could represent a major step toward evening out that schizophrenia.
Strikeouts have also been a major Red Sox problem. Averaging 9.2 per game, the Boston hitters fan more frequently than all but two MLB teams, the Los Angeles Dodgers (9.8) and Colorado Rockies (9.7).
But according to Cora’s announcement, on Wednesday the Red Sox will add the player who last year recorded the eighth-lowest strikeout percentage (12.4) of any hitter with at least 400 plate appearances.
But that player, 31-year-old Masataka Yoshida, has not yet played a game this season.
The third-year outfielder, signed from the Orix Buffaloes of Japan’s Pacific League to a five-year, $90 million contract in December 2022, underwent offseason surgery to repair the labrum in his right shoulder and has been recuperating ever since — though he played 11 games in spring training, stroking 10 hits in 35 at bats.
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“He’ll be activated this week,” Cora said Monday, as quoted by MassLive. “Another day of working out. Probably another one (Tuesday) and most likely Wednesday.”
While the return of Yoshida, a .775 OPS hitter with 25 home runs in his two Red Sox seasons, should be good news for the Red Sox offense, it could spell bad news for one player — a fan favorite who last year not only earned his first All-Star appearance but won the game’s MVP award: Jarren Duran.
The addition of Yoshida gives the Red Sox six outfielders who must compete for four spots — the three outfield positions plus designated hitter — in any given game. That means one of those outfielders is likely to be traded or otherwise off the team in short order.
That group, in addition to Yoshida and Duran, includes 2024 Gold Glove right fielder Wilyer Abreu, center fielder Ceddanne Rafaela — a defensive prodigy who is tied with two others for the MLB lead in outfield defensive runs saved (13) — and rookie Roman Anthony, who is rated as the No. 1 prospect in baseball.
In a reserve role, the Red Sox have Rob Refsnyder, a platoon specialist whose .948 OPS against lefty pitchers ranks him 14th among all MLB hitters — ahead of such elite sluggers as Shohei Otahni (.895), Vladimir Gurerrero Jr. (.947) and Bobby Witt Jr. (.865).
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And then there’s Duran, whose performance has taken a dip this season with a .728 OPS compared to .834 last year and .828 in 2023.
In addition, at age 28, Duran is older than any of the Boston outfielders except for the 34-year-old Refsnyder.
Duran is currently on a one-year, $3.75 million contract, but the team has an option that would pay him $8 million next season.
Will Duran be traded? According to one American League executive quoted by The Athletic, the Corona, California, native is indeed “the most likely” Red Sox outfielder to be leaving the Red Sox soon.
Duran was left on the bench for Monday’s game against the Colorado Rockies, with Refsnyder taking his usual spot in left field. But no announcement about Duran’s fate was made on Monday.
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