One of the most productive members of the 2023 Red Sox could be nearing a decision on where he’ll play next year.
Free agent Justin Turner is “increasingly likely” to decide where he’s signing this week, according to MLB.com’s Jon Morosi, who cites the Giants, Mets, Blue Jays and Cubs as teams who could be in the market to sign him. Turner, who hit the open market by declining his player option after one impressive season in Boston is one of a number of veteran bats still available along with Jorge Soler and former Red Sox designated hitter J.D. Martinez.
Turner, 39, showed no signs of slowing down with the bat in 2023, when he hit .276 with 23 homers, 96 RBIs and an .800 OPS in 146 games, primarily serving as Boston’s DH. He set career highs in hits (154) and RBIs (96) while falling one run short (86) of a career high. Among 79 players with at least 150 plate appearances with runners in scoring position, Turner ranked 7th in average (.338, third in AL) and eighth in OPS (.942, third in AL). His 626 plate appearances were tied for the most ever by a Red Sox player in a season at the age of 38 or older (also Bob Johnson in 1944 and David Ortiz in 2016).
Turner also emerged as a clubhouse leader for the Red Sox while showing he was capable of producing outside of his native Los Angeles, where he had spent the previous nine seasons with the Dodgers. After the year, he made the easy decision to opt out of the second year of his contract, declining his $13.4 million player option in favor of a $6.7 million buyout that he’ll earn in addition to whatever he’s paid in 2024.
Turner and the Red Sox have both expressed interest in a reunion and have stayed in touch but it appears he’s more likely to sign elsewhere because new chief baseball officer Craig Breslow has repeatedly expressed a preference to cycle through different players in the DH spot rather than having someone slotted in every day. Though he played 58 games in the infield last year, Turner is defensively limited at this point of his career and would only fit the Red Sox at DH with Rafael Devers and Triston Casas locked into the corner infield spots. Other teams will be able to give Turner more at-bats and time in the field. The Mets and Blue Jays have been consistently linked to him throughout the winter while the Diamondbacks, who signed Joc Pederson to be their DH late last week, were also thought to have strong interest.
Only one Red Sox free agent — new Dodgers lefty James Paxton — has signed this winter with Turner, Corey Kluber, Adam Duvall, Adalberto Mondesí and Joely Rodríguez remaining available with only a couple weeks to go before spring training.
