With both Triston Casas and Romy Gonzalez out injured, the Red Sox have struggled to get by with little to no depth at first base.
Thursday the club brought in some badly needed reinforcements.
The Red Sox announced they have acquired first baseman Ryan Noda from the Los Angeles Angels in exchange for cash considerations. Noda has been optioned to Triple-A Worcester, and to clear space on the 40-man roster the club has transferred outfielder Masataka Yoshida to the 60-day injured list.
The 29-year-old Noda has played in 164 MLB games, all coming with the Athletics between 2023-24. He’s batted .212 with a .344 on-base percentage, 26 doubles, 17 home runs and 58 RBI in the majors, and this season he’s batted .148 with a .633 OPS in 38 games with the Salt Lake Bees, the Angels’ Triple-A affiliate.
A left-handed batter, Noda was originally selected by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 15th round of the 2017 MLB Draft, and in addition to first base he can also play all three outfield positions.
Yoshida has yet to appear in a game this season after undergoing offseason shoulder surgery. He was placed on the IL on Opening Day retroactive to March 24 and has already nearly satisfied the 60-day minimum. Yoshida still isn’t expected back anytime soon, as the outfielder only resumed his throwing program this week and is only throwing up to 60 feet.
Fitts begins rehab assignment
Despite the inclement weather, Red Sox right-hander Richard Fitts made his first rehab start on schedule anyway Thursday morning with the Portland Sea Dogs. Fitts threw three scoreless innings with four hits, no walks and two strikeouts in Portland’s eventual 6-3 win over the Reading Fightin Phils.
Fitts has been on the 15-day injured list since April 13 with a right pectoral strain. Prior to the injury Fitts posted a 3.18 ERA over his first three starts after making the Opening Day roster out of spring training.
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