Local

Red Sox sign Japanese batting champ Masataka Yoshida to $90M deal

United States v Japan - Baseball Gold Medal Game - Olympics: Day 15 YOKOHAMA, JAPAN - AUGUST 07: Outfielder Masataka Yoshida #34 of Team Japan lines out into the double play in the first inning against of Team United State during the gold medal game between Team United States and Team Japan on day fifteen of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Yokohama Baseball Stadium on August 07, 2021 in Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan. (Photo by Koji Watanabe/Getty Images) (Koji Watanabe/Getty Images)
(Koji Watanabe/Getty Images)

BOSTON (AP) — The Boston Red Sox have signed outfielder Masataka Yoshida, who won a gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics and twice led Japan’s Pacific League in batting, to a five-year deal that will pay him $90 million.

Yoshida, 29, helped Orix to a victory in the Japan Series in October, homering twice in Game 5 – including a walk-off as the Buffaloes rallied from a ninth-inning deficit.

“He’s someone that we like, we’ve spent a lot of time on,” Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom said at the winter meetings in San Diego before the deal was announced. “Really, really good hitter, quality at-bat and a great talent. I think first and foremost, when you look at a player like him, the quality of the at-bat stands out.”

Yoshida has a .326 average with a .419 on-base percentage in seven seasons in Japan, all with Orix.

Word of the signing first emerged at the same time that free agent shortstop Xander Bogaerts agreed to leave the Red Sox and join the San Diego Padres. Bogaerts had been the cornerstone of Boston’s offseason plans.

Yoshida is Boston’s biggest signing from Japan since the 2007 acquisition of pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka, who was the focus of a bidding war. The Red Sox paid $51 million for the right to negotiate with him, then signed him to a deal worth about $52 million more.

To make room for Yoshida on the roster, Boston designated infielder Jeter Downs for assignment. Downs had been acquired in the trade that sent former AL MVP Mookie Betts to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts.

Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW

0