After playing left field throughout his first season in Boston, Masataka Yoshida became relegated to full-time designated hitter duty in 2024. The explanation at the time was that the club had superior defensive options, which made sense considering that Tyler O’Neill, Jarren Duran, Wilyer Abreu and Ceddanne Rafaela were all Gold Glove caliber fielders while Yoshida’s defensive metrics ranked near the bottom of the sport.

Speaking on Saturday, however, Red Sox manager Alex Cora revealed that there was another reason why Yoshida never factored into the outfield mix.

“If he was healthy he was going to play in the outfield, but the throwing part of it wasn’t there, so that’s the reason he wasn’t there,” Cora said.

Yoshida spent the entire season battling nagging shoulder and thumb injuries, which limited his production and necessitated offseason shoulder surgery. The hope is Yoshida will be fully healthy by Opening Day, and Cora acknowledged that his being able to play in the field would open up a lot of options for the Red Sox roster-wise.

For his part, Yoshida said he’ll do whatever the club asks of him.

“Whatever role the team gives me, that’s what I’ll be doing,” Yoshida said via translator Yutaro Yamaguchi. “I’m just doing everything I can to be ready by Opening Day.”

Yoshida, who spent most of the offseason rehabbing in Boston, said he’ll begin taking dry swings in about two weeks and is on pace to begin throwing at some point in March. He said he can’t recall when exactly the shoulder became an issue last year but that it mostly affected him on swing and misses.

Even with the persistent ailments Yoshida put together a respectable offensive season in 2024, batting .280 with 10 home runs, 56 RBI and a .765 OPS in 108 games. Cora called him one of the club’s best hitters, and Yoshida said he still hopes to live up to fans expectations as the impact player he was brought over from Japan to be.

As for the trade rumors that have popped up this offseason, Yoshida joked that he’s kept them muted, but that he is aware and is working to go about his business just the same.

“Yes, I did pay attention to those but it’s out of my control,” Yoshida said. “So we’ll see what happens.”