Masataka Yoshida exits with likely hamstring issue

Yoshida suffered the injury while legging out a double during Saturday’s game. No word yet on how long he’ll be shelved for. Mickey Gasper was recalled from Triple-A Worcester to take his place on the team’s active roster.

He added that his one prior hamstring injury in Japan cost him about a month. Yoshida will almost certainly go on the injured list Sunday after getting hurt running out a double in Saturday’s game. Kristian Campbell could be a candidate to take his spot until Roman Anthony comes off the IL.

The intentional walk with first base open in the eighth inning was the first Yoshida has received in four seasons in MLB. Caleb Durbin immediately followed it was a grand slam. Yoshida is 11-for-33 with a homer, seven RBI and a 4/5 K/BB in his last nine games. Still, he might be less of a factor for the Red Sox down the stretch if Roman Anthony can return later this month.

Yoshida is back at DH and hitting fifth after sitting out a pair of games over the weekend due to illness. The 33-year-old is hitting a robust .297 (19-for-64) with two homers and 10 RBI across 20 games since last month’s All-Star break.

Yoshida was feeling so under the weather on Sunday that he wasn’t even at the ballpark with his teammates. He’s back in the dugout on Sunday and could be available off the bench. Wilyer Abreu is functioning as the team’s designated hitter on Sunday with Eli White starting in right field and batting eighth against J.T. Ginn and the Athletics.

Ceddanne Rafaela, Wilyer Abreu and Yoshida all homered off Emmet Sheehan in a four-batter span in the third to give the Red Sox a 5-3 lead. Yoshida’s homer was his fifth of the year, with four of those coming in his last 24 games, and he’s hitting .264/.341/.388 in 255 plate appearances overall. It looked like he might lose some playing time when the Red Sox acquired Curtis Mead, and that still could be a danger if the Red Sox try to add offense again prior to Monday’s deadline.

The Red Sox could have easily acquired Mead a few months ago, but they’re obviously much bigger believers now after he hit .254/.352/.500 with 17 homers in 327 plate appearances for the Nationals. And he does look like a perfectly legitimate major league hitter at this point. However, his bat speed and exit velocity numbers are all pretty average, and he just doesn’t offer much defensive value as a well-below-average defensive third baseman and potentially adequate first baseman. The Red Sox will likely make him their primary DH for now, allowing him to maintain some mixed-league value. Still, if they’re ever at full strength, he might not warrant starts against righties. Time will tell, but giving up Early here seems like a misstep. With Mead likely to see significant time at DH, Masataka Yoshida will again become a reserve, though perhaps a Jarren Duran trade could put him in left field for a time.

Unless Early is damaged goods — and he obviously currently is on the IL with elbow inflammation — this seems like a pretty weak return for the Red Sox. Mead has broken out nicely with a .256/.351/.505 line this year, but not with the kind of exit velocity numbers that suggest he’s going to be an above average regular going forward, especially given his lack of defensive value. The Red Sox figure to use him a lot at DH for now and then mix him at third and first if Roman Anthony gets healthy and the outfield gets overcrowded again. Masataka Yoshida will lose at-bats in Boston. The Nationals will recall Brady House to replace Mead, according to Spencer Nusbaum.

Yoshida is slashing .355/.394/.645 in nine games in July with two home runs, six runs scored, and seven RBI, so it makes sense to try and get him as many at-bats as possible in this one. Anthony Seigler, who has been slumping of late, will head to the bench with Romy Gonzalez starting at second base and batting sixth.

Yoshida only plays against right-handed pitching, but he’s hitting .326/.380/.609 in his last 15 games with three home runs, 10 runs scored, and eight RBI. The Red Sox are allegedly looking to add a bat at the trade deadline and, if they don’t trade another starter, could mean that Yoshida gets pushed out of more designated hitter at-bats.