Categories: Rumors

Masataka Yoshida — NPB star that idolizes Bryce Harper — likely to be posted

According to Jon Morosi of MLB.com, the Orix Buffaloes “are likely to post” Masataka Yoshida, a 29-year-old offensive star in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball, in the coming weeks.

R.J. Anderson of CBS Sports reminds us of what the posting system rules are for players hoping to leave their Japanese club and join an MLB team:

“Yoshida would then have 30 days to work out an agreement with a team, with the Buffaloes receiving a compensatory fee based on his contract’s total value. Should he fail to reach an agreement with a MLB team, he would return to Japan for the 2023 season.”

Yoshida slashed .335/.447/.561 for an OPS of 1.008 in 2022, en route to helping the Buffaloes win their first Japan Series since 1996. The 29-year-old also homered 21 times and drove in 88 runs in 2022. He has a lifetime .327/.421/.539 slashline in NPB.

Yoshida profiles as a top-of-the-lineup hitter, as his .447 on-base percentage was good for first in the Pacific League in 2022. His high on-base percentage is unquestionably bolstered by his .336 batting average, but he also managed to walk 82 times in 2022 — a 15.9% clip.

Moreover, Yoshida only struck out 42 times in 515 plate appearances in 2022 and his 2.39 BB/K ratio ranked first in the Pacific League.

While the Phillies haven’t typically been players for Japanese stars, they may be more intriguing to Yoshida, who is a huge fan of Bryce Harper:

However, if the Phillies are interested in pursuing Yoshida, they will have to figure out where to put the Japanese star, who is primarily a left fielder in Japan.

Signing Yoshida would be a no-brainer for the Phillies if they weren’t already saturated with corner outfield/DH type players, such as Nick Castellanos, Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper. The current roster makeup, however, dictates that Dave Dombrowski and company would need to get creative if they had interest in signing Yoshida.