A Boston Red Sox designated hitter played a key role in Samurai Japan‘s back-to-back victory in pool play games against Chinese Taipei and South Korea.

Against Chinese Taipei, Masataka Yoshida registered a double, one RBI, and one walk for Japan on Friday. His WBC heroics continued against Team South Korea with a solo homer. After Japan took the lead at 4-3, Yoshida’s home run off Cho Byung-hun widened the gap to 5-3. Ultimately, Japan recorded a win that came off home runs.

With only two years left of his five-year, $90 million deal with the Red Sox, Yoshida faces a lack of roster space in MLB. This, in turn, has triggered a potential trade for Yoshida ahead of Opening Day. ESPN’s Buster Olney found the Houston Astros a fit for Yoshida.

Olney wrote on X, “Masa Yoshida will make $18.6m this year and next year. On paper, he’d seem to be a good fit for the Astros, with their need for a LH hitter and the smaller LF in their home park. In any deal involving Yoshida, would probably have to involve a financial adjustment.”

The Red Sox are facing an outfield logjam with four outfielders, which includes Wilyer Abreu, Roman Anthony, Jarren Duran, and Ceddanne Rafaela, competing for three spots.

Manager Alex Cora has already named Abreu, and Anthony will be a regular in the 2026 season. One of the outfielders will also likely fill the designated hitter spot. Barring an injury, Yoshida is less likely to see any playing time in the upcoming season.

With only two years left on Yoshida’s contract, a trade to a team where he can get regular playing time is ideal. Joe Espada’s team currently has a bullpen lacking enough outfielders, so he could be a perfect fit. Having him in left field can strengthen their outfield depth.

Yoshida can also add balance to a heavily right-handed batting lineup at the Astros that currently includes Jose Altuve, Jeremy Pena, Isaac Paredes, Christian Walker, Yainer Diaz, and Jake Meyers. Yordan Alvarez is the only regular left-hander and is also serving as a designated hitter for the Astros.

This is not the first time that the Bosox and the Astros have been linked in the same trade. With the Astros’ infielder logjam in place, talks about trading Isaac Paredes to the Red Sox were in progress. But that ultimately fell through when Boston acquired Caleb Durbin from the Milwaukee Brewers.

It looks like the two franchises can again become involved with Yoshida as the trade piece this time. But according to Red Sox reporters Sean McAdam and Chris Cotillo, trading him could be a difficult bet for Boston.

Red Sox reporters explain Yoshida trade difficulties

On the Fenway Rundown podcast, Sean McAdam and Chris Cotillo discussed why trading Yoshida can be a difficult decision for the Boston Red Sox despite his lack of a fixed roster spot.

“What’s tough about that is that he is a lot better than Pablo Sandoval was,” opined Cotillo, drawing a comparison with Sandoval.

Boston had released Sandoval, the former Venezuelan third baseman, owing to his underperformance in 2017. He had hit 14 homers in 161 games, slashing only .237/.286/.360 for the Red Sox.

But Yoshida is not like that. The NPB star has stepped up to the plate for the Red Sox when needed, barring the time when he did not get to play in more than 140 games (2023) in Boston due to injuries.

“There are no complaints from the organization or teammates. They like this guy; he works hard, he plays hard, he tries to help, but he is limited,” McAdams commented.

Yoshida’s limitations lie in his numbers during his stint with the Red Sox, though he has played in only 303 games. He slashed .282/.337/.425 with a .762 OPS while hitting 29 homers in his MLB career.

The Japanese was crucial for the Red Sox during their playoff chase in September, following Anthony’s season-ending oblique injury. That month, Yoshida slashed .333/.351/.486 with two home runs and 13 RBIs. He also recorded four hits and two RBIs in the Wild Card Games against the New York Yankees.

Now, it’s time to see whether Yoshida’s WBC performance opens up a spot for him on Alex Cora’s team or pushes a trade through.