It was the tale of two halves, one which was stellar, the other which was not.
The Positives
Signing a five-year $90 million dollar deal is going to come with expectations. This is especially true of Masataka Yoshida who, coming from NPB, had no track record of Major League success. Moreover, his defensive prowess was questionable (which many scouts pointed out before he was even posted) and at 5’8 175 lbs there were real questions about whether he could impact the baseball at the Major League level. For as many people who were excited about what he might do for the , there was an equal amount that cursed the move and wished the team had spent their money elsewhere.