‘I Have No Words’: Red Sox Staring Down $124 Million Nightmare With Story, Yoshida
The Boston Red Sox have a combined remaining financial obligation of $124 million for Trevor Story and Masataka Yoshida over the 2025–2027 seasons. Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe opined Sunday that the club will likely have to eat the majority of that salary to entice other teams to take the two players in a trade.
In his Sunday Baseball Notes, Abraham writes, “A backup left-handed-hitting DH [Masataka Yoshida] is not what the Sox need. Or another left-handed hitter, period. It may not be in Boston, but Yoshida can help somebody as a hitter.”
“At some point the Sox may have to admit defeat and pick up a big chunk of his remaining salary to trade Yoshida,” he continues. “That also could happen with Story eventually, as Marcelo Mayer bangs on the door in Triple A.”
Mayer has compiled a .267 batting average (8-for-30), with 2 home runs and 9 RBIs in his first 11 Triple-A games of the season.
Both Yoshida and Story were signed by former Red Sox general manager Chaim Bloom. Story signed a six-year, $140 million deal with the team in March 2022. Yoshida inked a five-year, $90 million contract with the team in December of that year. Both players have faced repeated injury challenges that have severely hampered their availability and performance.
