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The Boston Red Sox on December 21 made the first major addition to their offense by making yet another trade with the St. Louis Cardinals to acquire Willson Contreras. It was a sharp move by Craig Breslow, who traded from a position of depth to land the right handed first baseman who could provide a dose of power to the lineup in front of the Green Monster.
But the move doesn’t come without some questions. Contreras will reportedly split his playing time between first base and designated hitter, but the Red Sox already have two players who are expected to suit up in those positions: Triston Casas and Masataka Yoshida.
Casas is recovering from a major knee injury and surgery and he still has minor league options on his contract — he could easily begin the season in Triple-A and then split the first base and DH duties with Contreras (subscription required). That would leave Yoshida without a full-time role in the long term.
It’s been impossible for the Red Sox to find a trade suitor for Yoshida, since his major league career thus far has been riddled with injuries and failure to meet high offensive expectations. He has two years left on his contract, and nothing about Boston’s recent spending habits suggests it’ll be inclined to designate him for assignment and eat the remaining money on his deal.
If the Red Sox’s main priority now is to reunite with Alex Bregman, they must be looking internally for their power sources in the batting order. A full season of healthy Bregman, a rebound from Casas, Contreras, Roman Anthony, Wilyer Abreu and Trevor Story will contribute to that. If Casas and Contreras are splitting the DH and first base duties and Anthony and Abreu represent two of the three outfield spots, where will Yoshida play?
Willson Contreras trade could force Red Sox to trade an outfielder this offseason
Yoshida, who has shown the potential to be one of Boston’s most consistent hitters when healthy, could be pushed to the already-packed outfield. Chief baseball officer Craig Breslow has attested on a few occasions that the Red Sox don’t have to trade an outfielder this winter, but if Yoshida needs to enter the mix on a more regular basis, it would be wise to do so (subscription required).
Abreu, Anthony, Jarren Duran and Ceddanne Rafaela are all capable big leaguers deserving of everyday playing time. With Yoshida and Kristian Campbell now in need of outfield jobs, one or two players won’t be getting the everyday reps they need to maintain their value to the Red Sox or their value on the trade market.
Boston has made a point of mentioning its plan for Abreu to face more lefty pitching going into this season, he and Rafaela just won Gold Gloves (it’s Abreu’s second award), Duran’s speed and athleticism are highly important on the base paths and Anthony is already the new face of the franchise. Cutting any of their playing time to accommodate Yoshida or Campbell doesn’t seem like an optimal use of resources.
Breslow hasn’t ruled out using all angles to improve the team — almost anyone, including Yoshida or Campbell, could be on the trade block this winter. Someone might have to be moved to make the Red Sox’s current lineup work.