Masataka Yoshida, a free agent of the Boston Red Sox, underwent shoulder surgery similar to that of Kim Ha-sung, a San Diego Padres. However, there is already a gap when he will return to the team. What is the reason.
The Boston club reported on the 17th (Korea Standard Time) that Masataka Yoshida underwent surgery to repair the right shoulder joint at a hospital in Massachusetts, USA.
Yoshida took the professional stage through the selection of Orix Buffaloes in the first round of the Japanese professional baseball rookie draft in 2015. Yoshida played in 63 games in his first season of his debut and played with a 10-homer batting average of 0.290 OPS of 0.854, recorded 71 hits and 12 home runs batting average of 0.311 OPS of 0.928 in 64 games the following year, and succeeded in becoming a full-fledged main player with 165 hits and 26 home runs batting average of 0.321 OPS of 0.956, including 37 doubles in 143 games in the 2018 season.
In particular, Yoshida, who continued his good trend with a batting average of 0.322 OPS of 0.956 in the 2019 season by drawing as many as 29 arches, had a batting average of 0.350 in the 2020 season, raised his home runs to 21 again in the 2021 season, and played in 119 games in 2022 with 138 hits, 21 home runs, 88 RBIs, and a batting average of 0.335 OPS of 1.008, before challenging himself in the major leagues. His overall performance during his Japanese career was 884 hits, 133 home runs, and a batting average of 0.327 OPS of 0.960, in 762 games.
Despite being flawless in terms of offense, Yoshida acquired a five-year, $90 million (about 123.4 billion won) contract with Boston ahead of the 2023 season, which was viewed by the U.S. local media and officials of multiple clubs as a "boerpay." However, before making his debut in Boston, Yoshida flew with nine hits, two homers, 13 RBIs and a batting average of 0.409 OPS 1.259 in seven World Baseball Classic games, erasing concerns toward him.
Yoshida played in 140 games last year and recorded 155 hits, 15 homers, 72 RBIs, 71 runs batted in (OPS) at 0.289 OPS, which was not bad considering that he was in his debut season. However, his position this year was clearly different from that of last year. He showed such weakness in defense that he played most of the games as designated hitter, not outfielder, his main position. Moreover, he played in 108 games, including a hiatus due to injury, and remained at 106 hits, 10 homers, 56 RBIs, 45 runs batted in (OPS) at 0.280 OPS.
In terms of attack indicators, it may not seem much different from the first season since his debut, but it was clearly disappointing considering that he is the stat of a designated hitter who does not play defense. Amid this situation, Yoshida has been put on the operating table to achieve a better performance in 2025. Yoshida had missed the last two games of the regular season this year due to shoulder pain. According to Major League Trade Rumors, shoulder pain has been an injury that has plagued Yoshida all season.
"MLBTR" explained, "After the MRI after the season, Yoshida and Boston were confident that the surgery was the best option," while Boston said, "The surgery was successful." In the case of shoulder joint warp surgery, the normal recovery period is four to six months. It can be seen as the same surgery as Kim Ha-sung, who got on the operating table after suffering a shoulder injury during the first base ovation process this year. However, in the case of Kim Ha-sung, he aims to return in late April or early May, while Boston and Yoshida shouted for a return to the opening game of the 2025 season.
There are differences in resilience among players, but why is there a difference from the expected return point even though both Kim Ha-sung and Yoshida underwent the same surgery just a few days after undergoing surgery? "MLBTR" cited the position of the shoulder that underwent surgery as the reason. Both Kim Ha-sung and Yoshida had surgery on their right shoulder to throw the ball, because if Kim Ha-sung is a player whose biggest advantage is defense, Yoshida does not have a high proportion of defense.
"MLBTR" predicted, "Kim Ha-sung underwent off-season joint wasp surgery, and is scheduled to return in mid-April to early May. Kim Ha-sung's injury was on his right shoulder throwing the ball," adding, "Yoshida's injury is a shoulder throwing the ball, but his recovery schedule will be shorter as a designated hitter and left-handed hitter." 먹튀검증
In the end, even if he undergoes shoulder surgery, it shows that Yoshida is unlikely to play as an outfielder in Boston. "If Yoshida stays in Boston next season, it's hard to imagine her role changing," MLBTR said, adding, "If Yoshida is to become a main player, he needs to recover quickly during the offseason and prepare to deal with his weaknesses at bat and on the field."