Masataka Yoshida Takes Hard Stance On Red Sox Rehab

The Boston Red Sox are hoping to get Masataka Yoshida back up with the big leagues.

He has been dealing with the fallout of offseason shoulder surgery and a roster crunch. It was reported on Friday that Yoshida is expected to kick off a minor league rehab assignment next week.

The Boston Globe's Alex Speier shared that Yoshida thinks he'll need just a brief minor league rehab stint and could be ready to go before the All-Star break.

"It’s been a little bit longer than I expected. My goal was to be ready by Opening Day when I got the surgery, but it’s been a long process," Yoshida said through a translator as transcribed by Speier. "But overall, I think I’m in good shape and ready to go...

"'I haven’t really felt the difference yet (in the shoulder]), but just being able to put up the swing pain-free, I think that it will make a difference,' he said. Yoshida said he’s tried to stay sharp by hitting off a Trajekt machine that simulates big league pitchers, but that live at-bats will provide a different test. Still, though he avoided putting a timetable on his return, he said it was realistic to think he could be back in the lineup before the All-Star break."

Yoshida's return would give the Red Sox's offense a significant boost. The 31-year-old slashed .280/.349/.415 last year with 10 homers and 56 RBIs in 108 games. The year before, Yoshida slashed .289/.338/.445 with 15 homers and 72 RBIs as a rookie.