Injured Red Sox Veteran Feels ‘100 Percent’

The Boston Red Sox have a number of injured veterans nearing a return: Alex Bregman, Tanner Houck, and Masataka Yoshida, among others.

Yoshida recently began a rehab assignment and played his first game in left field on Thursday.

After the game on Thursday, Yoshida spoke through his translator and told MassLive’s Katie Morrison-O’Day that he feels “100 percent.”

Yoshida said he had no limitations, but will need more rehab games, likely to find his timing at the plate.

Yoshida played five innings and went 1-3 with a single and a strikeout. The game marked his second rehab game after he served as the designated hitter for Triple-A Worcester on Wednesday. The ball was hit to the outfielder four times in his five innings, none of which were particularly strenuous.

The Red Sox have several outfielders in Jarren Duran, Ceddane Rafaela, Wilyer Abreu, Roman Anthony, and Rob Refsnyder, and shouldn’t feel the need to rush Yoshida. The lefty has previously shown he needs time to find his timing before performing.

He hit .213 in his first 15 games in 2023, .221 in his first 19 games the following season, and .180 in his first 14 games after being reinstated from the injured list in June of that year.

He’s found his timing each time and posted a 109 and a 115 OPS+ in each of his first two seasons. When Yoshida is ready to return, he’ll help the Red Sox against right-handed pitching. In his first two seasons, he hit .300 and slugged .459 against righties.