Boston Red Sox With Another Big-Time Signing

The Boston Red Sox have pounced quickly on Japanese hitting star Masataka Yoshida. The .355-hitting outfielder was just posted by his NPB team this morning, and had until Jan. 20th to strike a deal. The Red Sox had no intention of waiting.

BREAKING: Outfielder Masataka Yoshida and the Boston Red Sox are in agreement on a contract, sources familiar with the deal tell ESPN.

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) December 7, 2022

Passan reports that the overall value of the contract is $105.4M. Wow. 

BoSox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom spoke about how high on Yoshida the team has been.

Chaim Bloom on Yoshida: "He's someone that we really like and spent a lot of time on. Really, really good hitter, quality at-bat. Great talent."

(Bloom said this without telling us he had signed Yoshida.) https://t.co/crD3Nj3ZOf

— Pete Abraham (@PeteAbe) December 7, 2022

"He's someone that we really like and spent a lot of time on. Really, really good hitter, quality at-bat. Great talent," said Bloom.

So after a slow start to free agency, the Red Sox are now riding a wave. Today they also signed closer Kenley Jansen, and have ramped up their efforts to bring back their own star shortstop Xander Bogaerts. It's felt they're close on that front.

Photo: Yukihito Taguchi-USA TODAY Sports