The Mariners and Red Sox have been linked together in trade rumors for the better part of a year, including reports earlier this winter that Seattle rejected Boston’s offer. Places to stay in Triston Casas because even Bryan Woo or Bryce Miller. Another interesting deal involving Casas was at least discussed between the two sides, as Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reported that the Sox were unwilling to agree to a deal that would have seen Casas traded. Luis Castillo. The Red Sox were only open to such a trade if Masataka Yoshida it was installed with Casas.
Yoshida signed a five-year, $90MM contract with the Red Sox in December 2022, back when Chaim Bloom was Boston’s chief baseball officer. The contract far exceeded what Yoshida was expected to receive when he entered North American baseball, and Craig Breslow took over Boston’s front office last winter, it didn’t take long before Yoshida’s name started popping up in trade rumors. Yoshida is still owed $54MM over the final three seasons of that deal, and he had shoulder surgery in October, though he’s expected to recover in time for Opening Day.
As Yoshida’s contract has become the biggest talking point of his MLB career, his salary often overshadows the fact that he posted respectable numbers in his two seasons in the Show. Yoshida hit .285/.343/.433 with 25 home runs over 1001 plate appearances, which translates to a 112 wRC+. That production is markedly upward against right-handed pitching, as the naturally lefty-swinging Yoshida has a better split against righties (.810 OPS in 749 PA) than lefties (252 PA). Known for being a brilliant hitter during his time in Japan, Yoshida became one of baseball’s hardest hitters during his time with the Red Sox.
For all of Yoshida’s contact, however, he didn’t deliver much in the way of hard contact or power numbers. He also posted subpar walk rates, and social security metrics didn’t like his glove performance over 713 1/3 innings as a lefty in 2023. The Red Sox responded to the roster struggles by limiting Yoshida almost exclusively to DH duty through 2024, a decision that reportedly did not please the 31-year-old.
Since the Mariners could use a left-handed bat and basically hit any kind of relief, Yoshida might have an appeal on paper going to Seattle. That means, Randy Arozarena set to play left field again Mitch Haniger is already slated to take the bulk of the DH at-bats, so Yoshida will once again be limited to a DH role in the Mariners’ lineup. It’s also easy to imagine why the M’s weren’t interested in taking Yoshida’s contract off Boston’s hands, as reports indicated the Mariners might only be open to moving Castillo to get his salary off the books.
Castillo is owed $68.25MM in guaranteed money from 2025-27, plus a $25MM buyout option for 2028 that is guaranteed for life, and if Castillo throws at least 180 innings in the 2027 season. Trading Castillo and bringing back Yoshida would only represent $39.25MM in payroll savings for the Mariners, which the M’s likely didn’t see as significant even with the huge upside of acquiring a manageable young slugger like Casas. Seattle baseball president Jerry Dipoto has publicly stated that the trade is “Program Z” option considering how valuable the Mariners are to their pitching staff, and if the M’s fail to move a starter, they’re giving back a contract they don’t want because salary cap shedding is certainly not on Dipoto’s radar.
It seems more and more clear that the Sox are ready to move on from Yoshida, however naturally it will be tricky in finding another team to receive anything more than half of his $54MM remaining salary. Attaching Casas or another young player to Yoshida in a trade package would be a serious treat, and it could also be considered a waste of trade assets to give up a young talent as part of a salary dump. While $54MM is obviously not a drop in the bucket, Yoshida’s contract isn’t all that much for a big-market club and a traditionally big spender like the Red Sox, and their $212MM 2025 tax figure is quite low. tax cap of $241MM.
That said, the Red Sox have also crossed the tax line just once in the last five years, as ownership has made a clear directive to reduce the team’s expenses. This didn’t stop Breslow from making some important moves, though Boston’s acquisition this winter (i.e. trading Garrett Crochet and signing Walker Buehler again Patrick Sandoval) came with limited financial costs. The Sox have also been linked to big free agent names such as Juan Soto, Fried Max, Corbin Burns, Teoscar Hernandezeven if those players end up signing elsewhere.
The Mariners and Red Sox were seen as natural trade partners, as Seattle’s depth and need to dovetail with Boston’s rotation needs and surplus of position players. Considering the quality of the Mariners’ arms, it’s safe to guess that the Sox would still be open to adding the Seattle starter if an acceptable deal could be worked out, but the two clubs couldn’t get a game together after at least a year. of internal and external trade negotiations.
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