Anytime a player gets hurt is not a good time, but Masataka Yoshida's injury has come at a particularly unfortunate time for the Boston Red Sox.
The Red Sox are looking to secure the top wild card spot in the American League, guaranteeing at least one series at Fenway Park in October. They are one of the best teams in baseball as of late and are close to being whole again. Trevor Story is starting a rehab assignment on Sunday and Roman Anthony is starting one on Tuesday. With those two back, the Red Sox would be able to replace Jarren Duran in left field, and fill one of the holes up the middle of the infield.
However, with Yoshida hurt, the Red Sox will be missing another key piece. That means one of the lesser bats will have to continue to play, with the designated hitter spot wide open. Not only that, but Yoshida was red hot at the plate, so it will be nearly impossible to get that same production out of a replacement. According to MLB.com's Ian Browne, he is going on the 15-day injured list with a hamstring strain.
Yoshida was hitting .324 with an 8.93 OPS in his last 34 games. He has the third-best OPS on the team since June 27 and has been a key part of the team's turnaround. He is still not the power bat the Red Sox expected when they signed him from Japan, but he has been a very important piece.
Not only are the Red Sox losing a red-hot hitter, but there is no guarantee that he will be the same after missing a significant chunk of time. If Yoshida comes back in September and does not get hot again before the postseason, the Red Sox could be in a bad spot.
In an ideal world, Yoshida misses minimal time, and the Red Sox have Anthony in the outfield and Yoshida at designated hitter for the final stretch. However, it's currently unclear how long Yoshida will be out.
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