Masataka Yoshida Stats: Analysing the new Boston Red Sox outfielder's stellar NPB career

Dubbed by former MLB outfielder Adam Jones as the "Japanese Juan Soto", Masataka Yoshida will be bringing his elite bat skills to the Boston Red Sox. The Sox signed the free-agent outfielder to a five-year, $90 million deal. While the contract number is already high for the 29-year-old Japanese star, Boston also had to pay a $15.4 million posting fee to the Orix Buffaloes of the NPB.

"Masataka Yoshida Shuffle vs. Soto Shuffle. Yoshida. .335 batting average / 80 walks to 41 strikeouts in NPB in 2022 … maybe coming to MLB in 2023" - David Adler

Yoshida caught the eye of many MLB teams thanks to his elite-level bat-to-ball skills. In 2022, the 29-year-old had 80 walks to 40 strikeouts, while also leading the NPB in on-base percentage in 2021 and 2022.

If he can produce in the MLB as he did in the NPB, Yoshida will provide the Red Sox with much-needed outfield depth heading into the 2023 campaign. It remains to be seen if the Red Sox will re-sign free agents J.D. Martinez and Tommy Pham, leaving vacant spots in the outfield, which Yoshida will be given the opportunity to fill.

In 121 games with the Orix Buffaloes, Masataka Yoshida maintained a .336 batting average with 21 home runs, along with 89 RBIs. He also set a new career high with a 1.007 OPS. He finished second in the Japanese Pacific League in walks with 80, 10 more than third place.

"The Red Sox continue to add to their roster reportedly signing Japanese star Masataka Yoshida to a 5-year deal. Yoshida hit .327 with a .960 OPS over 7 seasons in the NPB." - MLB Network

Yoshida's 80 walks last season were 23 more than Xander Bogaerts, who led the Red Sox with 57 base-on balls in 2022. Now with Bogaerts no longer with the team, Boston will look to Yoshida to make up for Xander's on-base skills.

A look at Masataka Yoshida's background

Yoshida was born on July 15, 1993, in Fukui, Japan before being drafted by the Orix Buffaloes in the first round of the 2015 NPB draft. Before joining the MLB, he was a two-time Pacific League batting champion, a four-time winner of the Pacific League Best Nine Award, a four-time NPB All-Star, as well as being a Japan Series champion in 2022.

At the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics, Yoshida and Team Japan walked away with the Gold Medal, defeating the United States 2-0 in the finals. Some of Yoshida's national team teammates included Masahiro Tanaka and Seiya Suzuki.