Red Sox's Alex Cora Names Who Will Be Primary Designated Hitter In 2024

Boston has some clarity in their roster construction

Scott Neville | Feb 13, 2024

Red Sox's Alex Cora Names Who Will Be Primary Designated Hitter In 2024 /

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Boston Red Sox

The Boston Red Sox still appear to be in the process of supplementing the current roster with external talent despite spring training already having begun.

Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow still needs to find at least one starting pitcher and a right-handed hitter with positional versatility -- likely an outfielder.

Boston is not at the point of setting their lineup for the upcoming season but they do have their primary designated hitter picked out.

"Alex Cora said he expects Masataka Yoshida to see more playing time in the designated hitter spot than anyone else," MassLive's Sean McAdam wrote Tuesday.

Cora is not declaring an official DH but claimed Yoshida would lead the team in at-bats at that position.

Yoshida hit .289 with 51 extra-base hits including 15 home runs, 72 RBIs and a .783 OPS (109 OPS+) in 140 games last season, his first stateside.

The 30-year-old's stat line does not scream slugger but he makes sense for the DH role for a myriad of reasons.

For starters, if you watched Yoshida play on a day-to-day basis, it was clear that he was out of gas at times, which led to a lot of weak grounders. Having more time off his feet instead of in the outfield should do wonders for him. Pair that with a full year of Major League Baseball under his belt including a revamped offseason program -- Yoshida's power should become much more consistent.

The other reality is that Yoshida is far from a stellar defender. He posted -8 outs above average last season while playing half of his games in Fenway Park's shortened Green Monster.

The Red Sox's defense was historically bad last season and Yoshida was a part of the problem. Taking him off the field and ideally getting at least league-average production in left field would improve the team's overall defense notably.

The Red Sox did not make the major splashes fans had hoped for -- though players such as Jordan Montgomery remain available -- so it will be crucial to optimize the small details such as defensive alignment.

Yoshida moving into a role he can thrive in is a strong start from the coaching staff.

More MLB: Red Sox's Craig Breslow Admits That He Has Underperformed Since Taking Over

Published Feb 13, 2024

SCOTT NEVILLE

Scott Neville covers the Boston Red Sox for Sports Illustrated's new page "Inside The Red Sox." Before starting "Inside The Red Sox", Neville attended Merrimack College, where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Communication and Media with a minor in Marketing. Neville spent all four years with Merrimack's radio station WMCK, where he grew as a radio/podcast host and producer. His propensity for being in front of a microphone eventually expanded to film, where he produced multiple short films alongside his then-roommate and current co-worker Stephen Mottram. On a journey that began as a way to receive easy credits via film classes, he received a call from "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia" star Charlie Day. Day advised him to make a feature-length film, which he completed his senior year. While writing the film, Neville completed an internship for United Way as part of their NFL Partnership Program. Neville ran the blog for a team of interns and hosted an internet show called "United Way's NFL Partnership Series" where he interviewed NFL alumni. After college Neville wrote for SB Nation's "Over The Monster," a Red Sox sister site of the flagship brand. His work would eventually lead him to a job as a content producer with NESN, where he would cover all sports. After developing as a writer with the top regional network in the world, he was given the opportunity to join the Sports Illustrated Media Group in his current endeavor as the publisher of "Inside The Red Sox." The successful launch and quick rise of "Inside The Red Sox" led to Neville joining the Baseball Essential ownership group, a national baseball site under SIMG. Follow him on Twitter: @ScottNeville46 Email: nevilles@merrimack.edu