The outfielder/DH dealt with a bad labrum for much of 2024.
If you’re feeling a little sluggish this morning and your boss isn’t happy about it, tell her you have a legitimate excuse: yesterday was the 20th anniversary of Dave Roberts’ steal in Game 4 of the 2004 ALCS and you were out celebrating, as all good New Englanders should have been. Dave Roberts, though, missed the party. (Peter Abraham, Boston Globe)
And if all that partying isn’t enough for you, there’s a new podcast about the 2004 Red Sox team. The Globe has released a two-part series featuring plenty of interviews called “The Curse Breakers.” (Boston.com)
Roberts missed last night’s anniversary because he’s managing the Dodgers in the NLCS against the Mets, of course. And it turns out that managing a baseball team is pretty easy when Mookie Betts is on it. Betts had four hits last night and, after entering this October with a poor postseason reputation, Mookie is showing the world what he can do. (Sean McAdam, MassLive)
After two inconsistent MLB seasons, Masataka Yoshida is eager to show the world what he can do, too. As it turns out, he was playing much of 2024 with a bad shoulder and underwent surgery back at the beginning of October. The usual recovery for labrum surgery is four-to-six months, meaning it’s no guarantee that he’ll be healthy by Opening Day 2025. (Julian McWilliams, Boston Globe)
If Yoshida isn’t able to begin the 2025 season on time, it could have some interesting roster implications, particularly given the young talent that will be competing for big league jobs in Forth Myers next spring. (Ian Browne, MLB.com)
The play of prospects Roman Anthony and Kristian Campbell, in particular, will probably be one of the main storylines of spring training 2025. But will that story compete for headlines with the arrival of a new pitcher? Free agent Shane Bieber will be one of the bigger names on the market, but one current analyst doesn’t think he’s a good fit for the Sox. (Greg Dudek, NESN)