Red Sox consider fast-tracking Masataka Yoshida's return from IL to help fill void at DH
'We've seen it the last few years: When he's healthy, it's a great at-bat, he hits the ball hard, he takes his walks,' Cora said Tuesday. 'I don't want to get ahead of myself, but I have a plan on how to use him. We can platoon, we can do all this stuff. Ref and Masa together — that's a pretty good hitter.'
In that scenario, the lefthanded-hitting Yoshida would receive a majority of the playing time, facing righthanders, against whom he had a .310/.374/.458 slash line last year.
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That would leave games against lefthanders for the righty-swinging Refsnyder, who owns a .314/.422/.569 slash line against southpaws this year.
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'We're going to be OK,' Cora said.
Yoshida had surgery to repair his right shoulder in October. Although he has ramped up as a hitter with little issue, his apparent problems throwing — he is playing catch from up to 120 feet now — have delayed his return. And with a full outfield (and a previously full DH spot), the Red Sox had been in no hurry to bring him back.
In their post-Devers world, that is changing.
Yoshida hasn't faced live pitching since spring training, so he would need to go on a minor league rehabilitation assignment before being activated from the injured list.
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'Let's see if we can speed up the process,' Cora said, noting that Red Sox decision-makers intended to form a more concrete plan late Tuesday or early Wednesday. 'He can swing that bat, now it's a matter of him getting at-bats and all that, but at the same time respecting the rehab of the shoulder. We'll decide that sooner rather than later and go from there.'
. . .
Beginning a short rehab assignment with Triple A Worcester on Tuesday, right fielder Wilyer Abreu declared himself 100 percent recovered from the left oblique strain that precipitated the call-up of rookie Roman Anthony.
His plan is to play with Worcester again Wednesday, travel to San Francisco on Thursday and return from the injured list Friday, the first game he is eligible to be active.
'I knew it was going to be only 10 days,' Abreu said, noting that he felt fine after three or four days. 'I was ready before that, so I know it's going to be good for me to reset my mind, reset everything, take a rest for a little bit. It wasn't a big deal. It was just tightness.'
Abreu struggled over the month or so before getting hurt, posting a .180/.202/.326 slash line.
The version of the Red Sox that Abreu will rejoin is different from the one he left. The outfield is crowded, with Anthony figuring prominently into the playing-time picture, but Devers, the DH, is gone.
'I'm just going to do my part and whenever they need me, I'm going to be there: DH, outfield, whatever,' Abreu said. 'So I'm looking forward to it.'
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Cora said Abreu 'is going to play a lot of defense,' which would leave Anthony without a permanent defensive home. But the manager is comfortable bouncing the top prospect around all three outfield spots, which Anthony also did in the minors.
'The lineup here is not to develop guys. It's to win games,' Cora said. 'We'll maximize the roster. We'll use it to our advantage … We'll use the DH to our advantage. Sometimes Jarren [Duran] will need some days off his feet. Roman can play center. We'll maximize the roster. We'll do that.'
. . .
Cora on Devers saying at his introductory news conference that he will play wherever the Giants want, including first base: 'He's with the Giants now. We have to turn the page, and I'm turning the page now.' Cora said he did not watch the news conference … A report from Yahoo said Devers was unhappy that rookie Kristian Campbell volunteered to play first base. Cora said that was the first he had heard of any tension over that issue. 'Kristian Campbell didn't ask to play first base,' Cora said. 'I talked to him about it and he was willing to try it' … Tanner Houck (right flexor pronator strain) will pitch two or three innings for Worcester on Wednesday, the start of his rehab assignment. Starting for Buffalo (Blue Jays) will be his fellow St. Louis-area native and University of Missouri product, Max Scherzer (right thumb inflammation).
Alex Speier of the Globe staff contributed to this report.
Tim Healey can be reached at
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