Yoshida won’t need surgery but won’t swing bat for at least several weeks

Masataka Yoshida won’t need surgery on his left thumb, but his return to the Red Sox lineup is far from imminent.

After getting a third opinion, the designated hitter confirmed the prognosis to Japanese media on Friday afternoon.

“No surgery,” Alex Cora reiterated. “So that’s good news. Now we just gotta wait. Obviously treatment and see how he feels in (a) few weeks.”

Yoshida was able to participate in some of the team’s on-field drills on Friday afternoon, but his work will be limited for some time. “No baseball activities, I mean, no swinging” the Red Sox manager said. Asked if he thought Yoshida would pick up a bat in June, Cora declined to set a firm timetable.

Through 24 games, Yoshida was 22-for-80 (.275) with three doubles and a pair of home runs, six walks, and 11 strikeouts. He’s scored 12 runs and driven in 11.

Yoshida exited the team’s April 28 game with a left-hand injury. Two days later, Cora announced that the designated hitter would see a specialist and undergo an MRI. Before the testing was even completed the following afternoon, the Red Sox had placed him on the 10-day injured list (retroactive to Apr. 29).

“His hand is huge,” Cora said at the time. “Hopefully we know what’s going on and we’ll take care of him, 10 days and he’ll be back.”

Ten days later, the diagnosis isn’t the worst-case scenario, but it’s far from ideal,.

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