It’s hard to imagine the Red Sox doing the Yankees a favor in free agency, but they did when they signed Japanese outfielder Masataka Yoshida. ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported the deal as being for five years, $85 million.
You’ll recall that I recently took a look at Yoshida, 29, and concluded that while risky, his upside was worth it. He hit 135 home runs and posted a line of .326/.419/.538 with a .957 OPS in seven years with the Orix Buffaloes. Yoshida also struck out just 307 times over that span, but there’s still a risk.