Masataka Yoshida

In two games at Triple-A this season, Anthony has gone 2-for-6 with two home runs, four RBI, four walks, and one strikeout with a 1.933 OPS. Obviously, two games is a small sample size, but Anthony is the top prospect in baseball and appears ready for MLB at-bats. Unfortunately for him, Rafael Devers is locked into the DH role in Boston, which means the three outfield spots are taken up by a combination of Jarren Duran, Wilyer Abreu, Ceddanne Rafaela, and Masataka Yoshida. The Red Sox will likely need an injury or a trade to open up playing time for Anthony, but the 20-year-old is worth a stash in most formats if you have a deep bench.

Yoshida has been hitting in spring training, going .286/.286/.400 and one home run in 35 plate appearances; however, he is still not able to throw from the outfield. With Rafael Devers set to be the everyday designated hitter for Boston this season, the team needs Yoshida to play the outfield in order to be in the lineup. The most likely outcome is that the Red Sox will want to show Yoshida can play the outfield before trying to trade him so that they can keep giving at-bats to Wilyer Abreu and Roman Anthony.

Red Sox manager Alex Cora told reporters Saturday that Yoshida will head to Triple-A Worcester to continue ramping up his throwing program. The 31-year-old figures to spend most of his time in left field this season with Rafael Devers taking over as a full-time DH. He probably would've been ready for the start of the year if he wasn't moving back to playing left field coming off shoulder surgery.

That the Red Sox have turned Rafael Devers into DH and declared that Masataka Yoshida is again an outfielder has put some more pressure on Rafaela to produce. Still, the Red Sox would surely love to see Rafaela hit well enough to justify keeping their outstanding defensive outfield intact, with Jarren Duran in left, Rafaela in center and Wilyer Abreu in right. Rafaela has put together a pretty incredible spring, too, hitting .333/.436/.576. That's hardly the best line in the Grapefruit League, but it's stunning to see him with a 3/6 K/BB in 39 plate appearances. He had a 151/15 K/BB in 571 plate appearances as a rookie last season.

Yoshida is daring the Red Sox to put him on the injured list. They are justified in doing so, since his shoulder is limiting him to DH duties at the moment. Still, that was something they dealt with throughout the entire 2024 season, and it wouldn't be a problem now if they hadn't signed Alex Bregman. Of course, the Red Sox do have a fair amount to gain defensively by putting Bregman at third and Rafael Devers at DH. We're just not sure it's going to help the offense at all.