Good News for the Red Sox: Yoshida and Bregman Closer to Return
The Boston Red Sox could get an offensive boost very soon. Manager Alex Cora reported that Masataka Yoshida will begin a rehabilitation assignment with the Triple-A Worcester team on Tuesday. Yoshida, 31, has been out all season due to right shoulder surgery in October.Cora also mentioned that Yoshida will play some games in the outfield. Last season, Yoshida served primarily as a designated hitter, playing in left field only once in 108 games. In his first season in 2023, after signing a free agent contract for 90 million dollars and five years with the team, he played 85 games in left field. On Saturday, Yoshida was catching fly balls during batting practice in right field, ran the bases while others were batting, and took batting practice. In addition, third baseman Alex Bregman, who has been out since the end of May due to a right quadriceps strain, ran lightly in the field and took ground balls at third base, throwing across the diamond before the Red Sox took batting practice. “He’s finishing taking ground balls,” Cora said. “It was a good day for him and Masa.” Alex Cora, Red Sox Manager When he got injured, Bregman was one of the club’s most productive hitters, batting .299, with 11 home runs and 35 RBIs in 51 games. Cora recently said that Bregman, 31, is not expected to return until after the All-Star break. Boston arrived on Saturday with a six-game losing streak, the longest since September 2022. The Red Sox lost the first game of a three-game series against Toronto, 9-0, on Friday night. The Red Sox signed Bregman as a free agent to a $120 million, three-year contract in mid-February.“He will go on a rehab assignment. We’ll see how many at-bats he needs,” Cora said Saturday before the game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Fenway Park. “He’s moving well, the swing feels great, the throwing has improved a lot. He’s been able to recover, so we just have to plan it out and see how we’re going to do it.”
Alex Cora, Red Sox Manager
