While most of the Boston Red Sox players participating in the World Baseball Classic should be with the team through the duration of this weekend, one player has already left to prepare for the Classic: Masataka Yoshida.

The left-handed slugger has already left to begin preparing to represent Team Japan, who is the reigning World Baseball Classic champion.

Pictures from the Japanese teams PR outlet show Yoshida and Chicago Cubs outfielder Seiya Suzuki on the practice field with their teammates. Yoshida was on the 2023 title-winning roster.

Shohei Ohtani is also with Team Japan already. The Japanese team opens up in Japan for pool play, so that, and the long trip, likely necessitate the early departure.

Yoshida is one of six outfielders who will leave the Red Sox during spring training, leaving the group barren of 40-man roster talent. Roman Anthony (USA), Ceddanne Rafaela (Netherlands), Jarren Duran (Mexico), Nate Eaton (Great Britain) and WIlyer Abreu (Venezuela) will all play.

Now 32 years old, Yoshida signed a five-year deal with the Red Sox before the 2023 season. A solid bat-to-ball player, he had a good rookie season, hitting .289 with a .338 on-base percentage in 140 games. He's armed with decent power, as he hit 15 homers and drove in 72 that season.

However, he's had trouble staying healthy in subsequent seasons, as he played only 108 games in 2024 (10 homers, 56 RBIs). He played just 55 games in 2025, hitting only .266 with four home runs.

At his best, he's an integral part of the lineup, but we haven't seen him at his best since that 2023 campaign.

Yoshida is in a generally fascinating spot. It's well established that the Red Sox roster doesn't really fit with all these outfielders, at least in terms of everyone getting ample playing time.

Yoshida has two years and $36 million remaining on his contract, so he's basically an impossible deal to trade given his health history. Will the team designate him for assignment and eat the money? Will they keep him and just deal with the roster clunkiness?

Or will an injury end up clearing the logjam out before the team breaks camp?

Furthermore, if the Red Sox have any doubts about what they are going to do with Yoshida, how does his absence impact things? Given that Japan is expected to play deep into the tournament, there's a very real chance that Yoshida is gone for a full three weeks, taking away his ability to showcase directly in front of coaches and executives.

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