Scott Boras Isn’t Surprised That Masataka Yoshida Is Thriving
Chaim Bloom has gotten a lot wrong during his time on Boston, but his decision to sign Masataka Yoshida looks like a smart one. The contract for Yoshida right now looks like a bargain and Bloom certainly deserves credit for making the move to go get him. Yoshida’s agent Scott Boras isn’t surprised that his client is thriving with the Red Sox.
“Flat bat swing and zone management,” Boras said, according to MLB.com’s Ian Browne, during the Red Sox’s trip to Anaheim last week. “Those were the two biggest factors, and then you put him at Fenway, where he can stay inside the baseball. You’ve seen it all now. It’s like, I just felt he was the perfect fit. I give (Red Sox chief baseball officer) Chaim (Bloom) and his staff credit because they certainly agreed with our assessment.”
Boras has a right to take this victory lap. Boras could have easily just not taken him on as a client. If he didn’t believe in Yoshida, he likely wouldn’t have. Based on some of the contracts that Boras has gotten teams to agree to, this isn’t really an agent that messes around with small fish.
I didn’t necessarily have a strong feeling either way on Yoshida coming into the season because I don’t pretend to watch Orix Buffaloes baseball on a regular basis. However, there were some heavy hitters that were really against the signing.
Yoshida, 29, leads the team in wRC+ (145), batting average (.317), on-base percentage (.391), and slugging percentage (.508) through Boston’s first 55 games. If you had to do it all over again, this is one the Sox certainly don’t regret under the Bloom era thus far.
