Will Middlebrooks Sees Red Sox Player Proving Naysayers Wrong
Sox Talk with Will Middlebrooks is a recurring content series on NESN.com. Middlebrooks, a former Red Sox player and current NESN analyst, gives his insight and opinion on pertinent Red Sox storylines throughout the season. You can read the latest stories from the series here.
If the recent road trip for the Red Sox taught Will Middlebrooks one thing it was this: Boston's offense is for "real" and capable of breaking out the bats with anyone in MLB.
Red Sox designated hitter Masataka Yoshida is a big reason for that.
Yoshida scuffled at the start of his second season with the Red Sox as he showcased very little pop and wasn't hitting for a strong average, either. He then missed over a month due to a thumb injury and even when the left-handed hitter returned from the injured list, he struggled, hitting .200 in June.
That brought out the doubters, who started second-guessing the decision the Red Sox made to sign the Japanese star to a five-year, $90 million contract prior to the 2023 season.
But as the Red Sox offense took off over a month ago, so did Yoshida. He became an integral part of the middle of Boston's order and in the process silenced the naysayers that emerged.
"You have Masa getting hot. Masa has been really good for an extended period of time now," Middlebrooks told NESN.com. "I think there were a lot of people starting to write him off. I was critical myself just because No. 1 the contract and the money he's being paid. Two, this is Year 2 of the deal, so he should be used to playing here now. He should know what to expect. He is accustomed to the travel and the craziness that is Major League Baseball compared to the Nippon Baseball League, which he played for so long. He has looked really good."
Yoshida in July alone surpassed everything did in the first two months of the season. The 31-year-old, who transitioned into a full-time DH this season after playing in left field last year, hit a blistering .333 in July with three homers and 20 RBIs.
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He's kept that up in August with three multi-hit games, including a four-hit performance earlier this week against the Kansas City Royals. He entered Saturday's matchup against the Houston Astros batting .280 with six homers and 30 RBIs on the season and crushed another round-tripper in the contest.
It's that type of production that drew massive praise from Red Sox manager Alex Cora, who saw Yoshida as a true game-changer in the lineup.
"We're very happy with him," Cora told reporters. "If he continues to do this, I was telling (bench coach) Ramón (Vázquez), we have a great offense. When he's going like this, we're elite."