The Red Sox are coming off of quite the up-and-down offseason. On one hand, they finally made fans happy by signing a homegrown player to a long-term contract. Boston signed third baseman Rafael Devers to a 10-year, $313.5 million contract in early January, cementing itself with a top-tier player at the hot corner for the next decade.
On the other hand, they let long-term face of the franchise Xander Bogaerts walk away and sign with the San Diego Padres.
They did, however, also make a splash in free agency. Boston signed Japanese star Masataka Yoshida to a five-year, $90 million contract. The 29-year-old has the second shortest odds to win the American League Rookie of the Year award according to our partners at BetOnline.ag:
Odds to Win AL Rookie of the Year
Gunnar Henderson +225
Masataka Yoshida +400
Hunter Brown +500
Triston Casas +1000
Anthony Volpe +1000
Grayson Rodriguez +1000
Josh Jung +1000
Royce Lewis +1000
Yoshida played for the Orix Buffaloes of Nippon Professional Baseball from 2016-2022. Over 762 games, he hit .327 with 133 home runs and 467 RBIs. Yoshida was also a four-time NPB All-Star, a two-time Pacific League batting champion, and led the Buffaloes to the Japan Series championship in 2022. He’ll play left field for Boston.
There’s another Red Sox player on the list as well. First baseman Triston Casas has +1000 odds to win AL Rookie of the Year, according to BetOnline. Casas has long been Boston’s gem in the farm system and finally got his shot at some MLB run late last season. He finished 2022 with five home runs but hit just .197 in the big leagues and struck out 23 times.
Casas has been under fire during the beginning of spring training, as Mass Live’s Chris Cotillo reported that the rookie “ruffled feathers with [his] pregame routine” of sunbathing in the outfield and napping in the clubhouse last season. Manager Alex Cora has since pushed back on the report, but it’s hard to believe it came out of thin air.
Casas’ antics are the least of the Red Sox worries heading into 2023, however. They have an aging pitching rotation, a shortstop who is recovering from UCL surgery, and are tied with the likes of the Texas Rangers for the 15th (!!) most likely odds to win the World Series at +4000.
Hopefully the youth movement with Yoshida and Casas can spark this team on a run and give Chaim Bloom and co. a reason to make moves in late July and compete for a title again.
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