The Boston Red Sox placed Masataka Yoshida on the injured list on Sunday with a left hamstring strain.
On Tuesday, interim manager Chad Tracy provided an update on Yoshida's MRI, and it was less than ideal.
"Masa has a significant hamstring strain,” Tracy said to reporters before Tuesday's game. “They’re still going to have a couple other doctors look at it, but enough knowledge at this point, looking at it, that it’s a significant strain that’s gonna keep him down for a while. I don’t have a specific timetable on that but it’s significant enough that it’s going to be pushing toward the end of the year. We’ll see what the other doctors see when they look at it as well.”
Tracy clarified that he meant it could keep him down until the end of the regular season, but he noted that's all the team knows right now. They are getting more opinions, and he should have a clearer timeline after that. Regardless, it's a huge blow to the Red Sox with the postseason around the corner.
Since June 27, he has the third-best OPS on the team and was hitting .324 with an 8.93 OPS in his last 34 games. He was one of the hottest hitters on the team, and with Roman Anthony's return on the horizon, the team was about to replace Jarren Duran, the worst hitter on the team this year.
The offense was so close to having Anthony and Yoshida in the lineup as regulars, a massive upgrade from trotting Duran out every night. However, it now seems that the designated hitter spot will be a revolving door until Yoshida is back, if he can come back this year.
The designated hitter spot could create a way to get Trevor Story, Andruw Monasterio and Curtis Mead regular at-bats when all three are healthy. With Story returning soon, Monasterio could end up playing second base regularly until Mead is back. Monasterio has been a good hitter this year and needs to stay in the lineup.