Yoshida's solid spring debut adds intrigue to Red Sox roster battle

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- As the Red Sox sort out their positional alignment as it pertains to Rafael Devers, Alex Bregman, Kristian Campbell and Vaughn Grissom, a name not being mentioned as much is Masataka Yoshida.

Now entering his third Major League season after a strong run in Japan, Yoshida provided a reminder in his first game of Spring Training on Sunday that he can still add value when he is in the batter's box.

Slowed in the early weeks of camp as he completes his rehab from a labral tear in his right shoulder -- “a major surgery," as manager Alex Cora put it -- Yoshida made a grand entrance as he stepped to the plate with the bases loaded in the bottom of the first inning in Boston's 6-4 win over the Mets at JetBlue Park.

On the first pitch he saw from right-hander Paul Blackburn, Yoshida slashed a ground-rule double into the corner in right.

“Regardless of that result, I was able to hit the first pitch of my first at bat,” said Yoshida, who added a single to center in his next at-bat. “So, it just felt great.”

While it remains to be seen how Yoshida fits -- left field, DH or a combination of both? -- on a roster much deeper than when he arrived two years ago, Cora will find time for Yoshida's bat.

There’s no certainty the Red Sox will put Yoshida on the roster for Opening Day because he is still in the early stages of a throwing program.

“He's still at 45 feet,” said Cora. “That's not too much, but we'll see. We'll see how it goes.”

In other words, there are no guarantees.

“I’m trying to be ready by Opening Day, and I'm just fired up to be ready by Opening Day,” said Yoshida.

But Cora has a roster and a lineup forming in his mind. He’s just not ready to make it public.

“I have a pretty good idea of what I’m going to do. I’m just not going to share it with you guys,” said Cora. “But we have to make sure everything happens. It’s too early in spring [to announce anything]. It’s March 2. We’ve still got kids getting their first at-bats here. We’ll get there when we get there. Like I said, versatility is huge for me. And athleticism, that’s very important to me, too. We’ve just got to make sure we’re healthy, and we’re getting there.”

For Yoshida, getting healthy has been a lengthy process. His labrum started bothering him at the beginning of September in his rookie year of 2023, and he played through the discomfort all of last season, when he was used exclusively as a DH.

In 248 career games and 1,001 plate appearances, Yoshida has a slash line of .285/.343/.433.

Cora thinks there is more in there because he saw what Yoshida was for a large chunk of his rookie season. From April 20-July 31, 2003, Yoshida had an .891 OPS over a chunk of 77 games and 341 plate appearances.

For a shorter spurt last season, Yoshida caught fire, slashing .341/.405/.514 in 195 at-bats from June 30-Aug. 28.

“This guy, throughout his career [in Japan], he was able to hit and crush the ball,” said Cora. “I don't think it was a bat speed problem or him hitting too many ground balls. It’s a matter of -- just like Raffy last year -- he was banged up, but he posted. He did everything possible to be out there.

“Now, we're going to get the healthy Masa, and I'm excited about that. I do believe he comes back to dominate the strike zone and drive the baseball. And that's going to be fun to watch.”

Buehler on point in debut

The fact that free-agent acquisition Walker Buehler was working swiftly and throwing a full repertoire of pitches in his debut in a Boston uniform on Sunday (two scoreless innings, one hit, no walks, four strikeouts) is a good sign of where he’s at from a health perspective.

“When I pitch well, that's typically how it goes," Buehler said. "I've always kind of thrown strikes and tried to mix and match, so it’s good to get back to that a little bit.”

This was Buehler’s first career start not wearing Dodger blue.

“Obviously, new place, new whatever, but we've been here a few weeks and kind of settled in here, and [I'm] happy to be wearing this uniform, and playing with this group,” Buehler said.