For the Red Sox, the 2025 season hasn’t followed the typical pattern of two steps forward and one step back — it’s felt more like four out of five, five out of six, or even 10 out of 12 steps forward, only to be followed by several in reverse. And after Friday’s loss to the Blue Jays, Boston has now taken a season-worst six steps back — as in six consecutive losses, marking their longest losing streak in three years.
While pitching has once again played a significant role in this skid, the resurgence of two long-standing issues — poor fielding and sloppy baserunning — has only made things worse. To compound the struggles, the current lineup might be one of the least intimidating the Red Sox have fielded since the 1990s. With Alex Bregman out due to injury and Rafael Devers traded away, the team is sorely lacking power hitters.
Given the circumstances, any positive news on the offensive front is a welcome sight. While it’s only a modest boost, the Red Sox are finally set to get designated hitter back, as he’s scheduled to begin a rehab assignment.
Given the current state of the roster, the Red Sox are willing to take position players wherever they can get them—and that includes potentially using Masataka Yoshida in the outfield again. Yoshida is working his way back from a shoulder injury that had lingered since last season and required offseason surgery. The team has taken a cautious approach with his recovery, especially when it comes to making sure he’s ready to throw before returning to the lineup.
Yoshida played 87 games in the outfield during the 2023 season and served as the designated hitter in 49. In contrast, last season he appeared in the field just once, spending 101 games at DH.
“The swing feels great. The throwing has improved a lot, and he’s been able to bounce back,” manager Alex Cora said. “We just need to map out how many games he’ll play in the outfield versus at DH. In the end, once his swing feels right, he’ll be back with us.”
Still, Red Sox fans are tempering expectations. Despite hitting a respectable .285 over the past two seasons, Yoshida has only managed 25 home runs—far below the power production expected when the team signed him to a \$90 million deal two years ago.