Masataka Yoshida (Boston Red Sox), the "genius hitter" of Japan, is in disgrace. Now he cannot even use it as a trade card.

"MLB.com " reported on the 27th (Korea time) that the Boston Red Sox failed to trade with the Seattle Mariners. The reason was Japan's "genius hitter" Masataka Yoshida.스포츠토토

Boston has taken a very aggressive move in the free agent market this winter. Though not ultimately appealing, Boston joined Juan Soto's scramble to become the biggest free agent in the FA, offering him a 15-year, $700 million (W1.332 trillion). However, after being defeated by the New York Mets, Boston immediately turned to the other side and began building its strength.

Boston's top priority was by far reinforcing the mound. Boston kept an eye on Max Fried from the beginning of the Stove League, but when it signed an eight-year, 218 million-dollar contract with the New York Yankees, it hurriedly turned around. As a result, it acquired Garrett Crochet through a trade with the Chicago White Sox and acquired Walker Buehler through a one-year, 21.5 million-dollar contract in the FA market.

However, before Buehler was acquired, it was reported that Boston pushed for a trade with Seattle. According to MLB.com , Boston tried to get Luis Catillo from Seattle. Castillo, who made his debut with the Cincinnati Reds in 2017 and wore a Seattle Mariners uniform through a trade in 2022, has a 73-76 record and 3.56 ERA in 211 appearances in eight major league seasons.

In return for giving up Castillo, Seattle hoped to recruit Triston Casas, a "special prospect" who has played in 222 games in three seasons with a batting average of 0.250 OPS of 0.8330 after being drafted by Boston as the 26th overall pick in the first round of the Major League Rookie Draft in 2018. Boston had the intention of giving up Casas, but the problem was later.

The Boston Red Sox tried to put Yoshida on top of the team along with Casas. There was a disagreement in this regard. Seattle had no intention of getting Yoshida, and Boston made a firm stance that it would not give up Casas unless the team brought him to Yoshida, resulting in a failed trade between the two teams. As the trade did not go through, Boston stopped pursuing a trade with Seattle and acquired Buehler from the FA market.

This clearly shows Yoshida's current position. Yoshida, who was nominated by the Orix Buffaloes in the first round of the Japanese professional baseball rookie draft in 2015, challenged the Major League after playing in 762 games, including double-digit home runs for seven consecutive seasons through 2022, with a whopping 884 hits, 133 homers, 467 RBIs, 418 runs, a batting average of 0.327 OPS of 0.960.

As you can see from his performance in Japan, he was flawless in batting, not only in his sophistication but also in his ability to send a ball out of the fence. In response, Boston awarded Yoshida a five-year, 90 million-dollar contract. The U.S. media reported that he was Boston's overpay, and Yoshida proved his worth with 155 hits, 15 homers, 72 RBIs, 71 runs and a batting average of 0.289 OPS of 0.783 in 140 games last year, his first season in his debut.

Yoshida's problems lie elsewhere, however. Defense. Yoshida's defense capability was so disastrous that he undermined all of the WAR (contributions to victory over substitute players) he earned in offense. As a result, he couldn't afford to play as an outfielder this year, and played as a designated hitter except for a single game, but recorded 106 hits, 10 homers, 56 RBIs and a batting average of 0.280 OPS of 0.764 in 104 games. He lacked competitiveness to be considered a designated hitter with built-in, and eventually failed to spend the entire season due to injury and sluggish performance.

As the resources that invested 132.8 billion won turned into a headache, Boston tried to use Yoshida as a trade card along with Casas, but there was no way that it would take Yoshida, who still had 55.8 million dollars left over for three years. It is a great humiliation of Yoshida, who was called the "genius hitter."