5:26 p.m.Turner will earn $14 million in 2023, Heyman reportsand the 2024 player option is worth $8 million.
4:54 p.m.: The Red Sox have reached an agreement with the infielder Justin Turneraccording to ESPN’s Joon Lee and Jeff Passan (Twitter connections). The two-year deal will pay Turner just under $22 million, and Turner can opt out of the deal after the 2023 season. New York Post’s Jon Heyman (Twitter connections) reported earlier in the day that Turner and the Sox were “looking hard” to complete a contract, and that Boston was “strongly” pursuing Turner. Michael Marino of Fantrax reported yesterday that Turner and the Sox were in talks. Turner is represented by Vayner Sports.
The Marlins, Diamondbacks, Twins and Dodgers are the other teams publicly known to have some interest in Turner, and Miami did Turner an offer earlier this week. Barry Jackson and Craig Mish of the Miami Herald described the Marlins’ offer as “competitive”, and while the exact details of the offer are not known, heyman wrote that the Marlins seemed willing to give Turner the multi-year contract he is seeking in free agency.
Turner (who enters his season at 38) found that multi-year pact, albeit with a significant drop in average annual value from the $17 million he received during his previous two-year contract with the Dodgers. MLBTR projected Turner for only one year guaranteed, but for $14 million. The yearly breakdown of the new contract is not yet known, and the opt-out could indicate that Turner’s camp could essentially view this deal as a one-year pact, with the aim of obtaining a larger multi-year contract. . .. following on the heels of a great platforming year at Fenway Park.
That said, it’s not like Turner underperformed in 2022, as he posted a solid 123 wRC+ after batting .278/.350/.438 with 13 homers in 532 plate appearances with the Dodgers. However, given that Turner’s usual offseason routine has been disrupted by the lockout and shortened spring training, he might well imagine he could have hit a lot better if he hadn’t been very slow. Turner had just .611 OPS in his first 243 APs of the year, but then caught fire with .940 OPS in his last 289 APs.
Despite this production and Turner’s long track record of success over nine seasons in Los Angeles, the Dodgers were selected to decrease Their $16 million club option on Turner for 2023, buying him out for $2 million instead. The decision was apparently made to give the Dodgers additional flexibility when it comes to their payroll and luxury tax situation, as the Dodgers could eventually use any of the Max Muncy, Chris Tayloror prospect Michael Vargas at third base. While President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman has repeatedly said the door is still open for a possible reunion with Turner, the Dodgers signature of JD Martinez yesterday seemed to hint that LA had moved on.
Ultimately, the Dodgers and Red Sox will unofficially trade veteran hitters, with Martinez heading to Los Angeles and Turner coming to Boston. Turner brings more defensive utility than Martinez, as Turner still saw quite a bit of third base action last season, essentially splitting his time between third and DH. Raphael Devers has priority in Boston’s hot corner, of course, but the Red Sox could now use Turner at third base when Devers (an inferior defenseman) is given a DH day. Turner hasn’t played first base since 2016, but he could also potentially spend some time in the cold corner as a right-handed rookie hitting complement. Triston Casas.
Xander BogaertsThe departure for the Padres brought a lot of hard feelings from the Red Sox nation towards ownership and baseball manager Chaim Bloom. While Bogaerts is certainly a major loss, Bloom’s plan is to fill the void with multiple players, like Bloom did. declared that he wanted to add about 7-9 new faces to the roster. This long list of needs has now been partially fulfilled by Turner, Masataka Yoshidaand the lifters Kenley Jansen, Chris Martinand Joely Rodriguez.
That would seem like starting throwing, catching and the outfield remains on Bloom’s checklist, given the other players the Red Sox have at least registered this winter. But with Turner, the club reinforces the infield corner/DH mix that Boston initially sought to address by pushing for Jose Abreu, before Abreu signed with the Astros. The Red Sox made room for first base by designing Eric Hosmer for an assignment earlier this week, and although Hosmer was essentially a free agent since the Padres covered almost all of his remaining salary, the Sox were looking for either a more productive bat or at least a firmer path for the top prospect. Casas. .
After passing the luxury tax threshold in 2022, the Red Sox are to this day well under the $233 million threshold. That leaves Bloom the option of possibly staying under the tax line, although given that Bloom and the property were willing to pay the tax for even a rather long shot on a playoff spot last year, one could imagine the Red Sox wouldn’t mind paying another tax penalty for the top side good. Many of the best free agents from the offseason have already left the roster, but the Sox could still pursue further upgrades in the trade market.
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