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The Red Sox announced a Masataka Yoshida change before Sunday's game against the Rangers, raising new questions.

The Boston Red Sox made a change to Masataka Yoshida’s role before Sunday’s prime time matchup against the Rangers, a notable adjustment as Boston looks to finish off a series sweep against Texas.

Yoshida’s status has been closely watched in recent weeks, making the latest Red Sox decision one of the more intriguing pregame developments ahead of first pitch at Fenway Park.

Boston placed Yoshida atop the batting order as the designated hitter for Sunday’s series finale at Fenway Park, as confirmed by The Boston Globe‘s Tim Healey and multiple Red Sox beat writers. It marks the first time Yoshida has batted leadoff in the 2026 season and only the third time in his MLB career, following two leadoff starts at Arizona in September 2025.

First pitch is set for 7:20 p.m. EDT, airing nationally on NBC and Peacock’s Sunday Night Baseball. Left-hander Connelly Early (5-4, 3.30 ERA in 71 innings) takes the mound for Boston.

Yoshida’s start at DH comes at the expense of journeyman catcher and DH Mickey Gasper, who was inserted into the lineup by interim manager Chad Tracy for the last nine straight games.

Yoshida Bats Leadoff: What It Means for the Red Sox

The leadoff slot draws on Yoshida’s career reputation for plate discipline and contact, attributes that have long made him a logical top-of-order candidate, though Red Sox managers have almost never used him there. His on-base percentage (.329 in 2026) is the strongest part of a season that has otherwise run cold. He is hitting .238 with one home run and 10 RBI in 46 games heading into Sunday, and has batted just .204 over his last 15 games. Still, he came through with a go-ahead two-run single in a May 31 comeback win over Cleveland, one of several timely contributions in an otherwise quiet stretch.

Yoshida’s Red Sox Career

Yoshida, 32, signed a five-year, $90 million contract with Boston on Dec. 15, 2022, after being posted from the Orix Buffaloes, with the Red Sox paying a roughly $15.4 million posting fee on top of the deal, according to ESPN. He arrived as one of NPB’s premier hitters with a .327 career average, 133 home runs, and 467 RBI across seven seasons. Yoshida closed out his final Japan campaign with a walk-off homer in Game 5 of the 2022 Japan Series.

His MLB debut season in 2023 produced a .289 average with 15 home runs and 72 RBI, plus an AL Player of the Week award. He followed up with a .280 average in 2024 before shoulder surgery erased most of his 2025 campaign. He was activated July 9 of that year and has been working back toward full form since. Career MLB totals stand at .277 with 30 home runs and 164 RBI in 349 games.

Nathan Eovaldi — a former Red Sox right-hander and hero of Boston’s 2018 World Series championship — starts for Texas against his old club on national television. Eovaldi brings a 5-7 record and a 4.26 ERA in 80.1 innings into the start. Boston enters at 29-39 and trails by 12 1/2 games in the American League East. But the Red Sox have won both games in this series — 10-1 on June 12 and 6-3 on June 13 — and need to win the finale to complete the sweep.