Boston Red Sox Japanese major leaguer Masataka Yoshida (31) is going through a hard time.

Yoshida was a pinch hitter in the fifth inning against the Cleveland Guardians in the 2024 Major League Baseball regular season at Progressive Field in Cleveland, Ohio, on the 26th (Korea time). Boston lost 4-6, with starter Chase Anderson giving up five runs in one inning of the ⅔.

Yoshida started playing on the bench for four consecutive games, following the game against the Pittsburgh Pirates on the 22nd and the game against Cleveland on the 24th and 25th. In the game on the 24th, he came out to bat once as a pinch-hitter in the top of the eighth inning, got on base with a ball that hit his body, and immediately replaced pinch-runner David Hamilton.

On this day (26th), Yoshida had only one chance to bat. When Cleveland brought in right-handed pitcher Nick Sandlin in the top of the fifth inning with Boston trailing 2-5, Yoshida was given a chance to pinch hit.

Yoshida carefully selected the ball and played a full count match, but ended up hitting an outer sinker for the sixth ball, and ended up losing ground due to a grounder to the pitcher. During Boston's defense in the bottom of the fifth inning, he was replaced by Connor Wong and could no longer play on the ground.

Yoshida, who played 762 games in seven seasons in the Japanese Professional Baseball (NPB), hit 0.327 (884 hits in 2703 at-bats) with 133 homers, 467 RBIs and a .960 OPS, signed a five-year contract for $90 million, the highest amount for an Asian batter at the time, in December 2022. He signed a contract worth 124.3 billion (W17 million) and joined the Boston Red Sox.

Yoshida, who challenged to appear on the U.S. stage with high expectations, suffered from a slump in the early days of her debut and suffered from controversy over over her overpayment. However, she has made a miraculous rebound since mid-April, finishing her first season with a batting average of 289, 15 homers, 72 RBIs and an OPS of 0.783 in 140 games.

Yoshida had a relatively smooth landing in the Major League, ranking sixth in the voting for the Rookie of the Year in the American League. However, her poor performance in the second half (0.254 batting average and 0.664 OPS) compared to the first half (0.316, 0.874) and her defense capability, which was one of the lowest in the league, were the biggest concerns.

Last year, Yoshida played 713 innings in 87 games (84 starts) as a left fielder, recording three errors and a fielding rate of 0.977. As of FanGraphscom , the Defensive Run Saved was -4, the lowest among the 16 players in the AL left field (based on more than 400 innings). Another indicator of defensive contribution, the Ultimate Zone Rating (UZR), also ranked 14th among the AL left fielders with -2.3. The more he played left field, the more he seemed to harm his team.

After all, Yoshida has been reduced to a second-year half-player in the Major League. Boston manager Alex Cora said before the end of this season that Yoshida will have the most at-bats as a designated hitter among our team's players. In fact, Yoshida played in only one game (one inning) as a left fielder this year, and played as a designated hitter in all of the remaining games.

Despite his lack of defensive burdens, Yoshida has been losing ground gradually, recording a batting average of 0.233, two homers, 10 RBIs and an OPS of 0.659 in 22 games. Not only is he unstable in defense as an outfielder, but his batting condition is no different from that of the previous players. In addition, Tyler O'Neill (concussion) and Rafael Devers (knee), who returned from injury, have alternately played as designated hitters, further reducing Yoshida's position.

"Yoshida is the designated hitter. Yesterday (24th) O'Neill will be the designated hitter, and today (25th) Devers will be the designated hitter. Tomorrow (26th) he (Yoshida) will be the designated hitter," Cora said in an interview. However, Devers will be the designated hitter on the 26th. Devers was excited as he made six hits in nine at-bats for two days as a designated hitter.

After failing in defense, Yoshida has been reduced to a half-player at the start of her second MLB season. To make matters worse, even half-chances are dwindling due to poor batting and roster composition.