Red Sox Trade Rumors: Masataka Yoshida Drawing Interest From 'Several' Teams

Boston Red Sox outfielder Masataka Yoshida has piqued the trade interest of "several teams," per Jen McCaffrey and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, who provided more information:

"Several teams have inquired about Yoshida, and while the Red Sox do not appear to be actively shopping him, they are open to virtually any idea as they seek to build a better roster."

Yoshida, who turns 31 in July, signed a five-year, $90 million contract with the Red Sox last offseason. He hit .289 (.783 OPS) with 15 home runs and 72 RBI over 140 games.

He previously played with Nippon Professional Baseball's Orix Buffaloes from 2016-2022, earning All-Star honors on four different occasions.

Yoshida won the Japan Series in 2022 with the Buffaloes and also won the Pacific League batting title in 2020 and 2021.

The Athletic's notes about Yoshida was made in relation to the Red Sox's reported interest in free agent outfielder Teoscar Hernández, who accounted for 26 home runs, 93 RBI and a .741 OPS last season with the Seattle Mariners.

"Hernández, who would address the Red Sox's need for power, remains a point of focus," The Athletic duo wrote.

"But according to one person with knowledge of the talks, the Red Sox prefer to tackle other areas of the roster and reduce payroll before committing to the free agent."

That led into the aforementioned remarks on Yoshida, who did fare well with the Sox last season. In fact, through July 25, Yoshida was hitting .320 (.887 OPS) with 12 homers and 43 RBI. A late-season slump landed him at his final stats for the year, but he was excellent through his first four months en route to a good year overall.

On paper, trading Yoshida doesn't make a whole lot of sense given the totality of his work. Perhaps another team comes at the Red Sox with an offer they can't refuse, but he seems like part of the solution to get Boston out of the AL East cellar, not the problem.