The Boston Red Sox have made a lot of moves to make the fans happy this season. Boston has quickly turned its team around from a postseason afterthought to a contender in the American League East. The Red Sox are near the top with the New York Yankees at this point.
The Red Sox added superstar pitcher Garrett Crochet in a massive trade during the offseason. Crochet has looked excellent this season, placing himself firmly in the American League Cy Young award race. Boston also added players like Alex Bregman and elevated Kristian Campbell to the big-league roster for good.
Despite all these additions, the Red Sox aren't perfect. Their roster has a few players on it who shouldn't be on the big league roster, but there's one player who stands out as overpaid, too.
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Masataka Yoshida would be off the roster if the Red Sox fans had a say about it
The Red Sox gave designated hitter Masataka Yoshida a five-year, $90 million contract before the 2023 season. He's been a solid hitter for the Red Sox, but Boston shouldn't have given a designated hitter this kind of money. Yoshida isn't an exceptional hitter and he's seemingly gotten his job taken at DH.
When the Red Sox acquired Bregman, they decided to slot him in at third base and move Rafael Devers to the DH role. With Triston Casas going down, the Red Sox have the chance to put Devers at first base, but they've seemingly refused to do so.
With that in mind, it seems clear that Devers is the DH in Boston, which leaves Yoshida with nowhere to play when he returns from injury. It's unlikely Yoshida finds a role in the outfield, so he's without a consistent job in Boston while making nearly $20 million a season.
If it were up to Red Sox fans, the team would be spending their money elsewhere. Boston could have used this money to chase a player like Corbin Burnes or Max Fried in free agency, but they couldn't because they have so much tied up in Yoshida.
Either way, this contract is turning into quite a disaster for the Red Sox.