Red Sox Make Way For Masataka Yoshida's Return By Demoting 28-Year-Old

Reinforcements are coming for the Boston Red Sox.

All-Star third baseman Alex Bregman will be back sometime soon, but the wait appears to be over in the case of outfielder/designated hitter Masataka Yoshida. After missing the first 93 games of the season, Yoshida is set to be activated for the Wednesday series finale against the Colorado Rockies.

Yoshida should make the Red Sox's offense significantly better, even if he's not fully lived up to the five-year, $90 million contract he signed out of the Japanese NPB before the 2023 season. But as all baseball fans know, when one player comes in, another must go out.

Though he had led off for the Red Sox in four straight games, it was infielder Nate Eaton who drew the short end of the stick.

According to Chris Cotillo of MassLive, Eaton has reportedly been informed he's being optioned to clear a path for Yoshida. No transaction has yet been made official.

"Boston informed infielder/outfielder Nate Eaton after Tuesday’s win that he is being optioned to Triple-A Worcester, sources confirmed," Cotillo wrote. "That move will clear a spot for Yoshida, who is expected to be activated Wednesday after missing the first 93 games of the season due to a slow recovery from October labrum surgery. Boston will need to clear a 40-man spot for him Tuesday, too."

Eaton, 28, was slashing .250/.296/.333 in 14 games. He was never expected to be much of a contributor for this squad, but it's still something of a surprise to see him demoted right after his name was written at the top of the lineup card.

The Red Sox would either have to designate someone for assignment, move a player to the 60-day injured list, or make some sort of trade (the least likely of these options, but a possibility given the amount of trade rumors constantly swirling around this ballclub).

Yoshida's return comes at an opportune time. The Red Sox have tied their season-high of three games over .500 at 48-45, but after the Rockies finale, they enter a scheduling gauntlet in which they'll play 25 out of 31 games against teams currently over .500.