Are the Red Sox interested in re-signing Justin Turner? Craig Breslow answers

Are the Red Sox interested in re-signing Justin Turner? New baseball manager Craig Breslow was asked that question on the final day of the GM meeting Thursday. Thus he answered:

“I’m very confident talking about his impact on the team even though I wasn’t there. It was really clear just by the way people talked about him, how much he meant to the clubhouse, how much he meant to the clubhouse. organization, how much he meant to the city,” Breslow said. – It is clear that we have to find out if he fits, how he fits. But from my perspective, I have nothing but high praise for Justin as a person.

Turner declined a $13.4 million player option in his Red Sox free agent contract, but remains interested in returning. It was a no-brainer to waive because he gets a $6.7M buyout, which leaves the DH/first baseman only $6.7M on the table. He will do more in free agency.
Turner turns 39 in November. 23. The two-time All-Star enjoyed a productive season in Boston in 2023, posting a .276 on-base percentage, .345 slugging percentage, .455 slugging percentage, .800 OPS, 23 home runs, 31 doubles, 86 runs. , 96 RBI. , 51 walks and 110 strikeouts in 146 games (626 plate appearances). He started 98 games at DH, 35 games at first base, seven games at third base and four games at second base.
Breslow weighs in the daily DH against the multiplayer rotation. With Turner’s ability to play the corner outfield, it would give the Red Sox the flexibility to occasionally use players at the DH spot to step up and reduce their workload over a long 162-game season.
“At a high level, we’d probably like to give Alex (Cora) as much flexibility as possible,” Breslow said. “We realized it’s a long season and sometimes he tries to bring guys down.” but keeps the rackets in line. I don’t think there is one way to do it.
“Obviously, I played with a guy who ran the DH spot for a while and was pretty good at it. Plus, it makes sense to have as many creative options as we can manage.”

Turner was also an important leader in the clubhouse last season. He provides an intangible asset that cannot be measured by analytics. That seems to be important to Breslow.
“It’s certainly a subjective assessment, but it’s very, very different from not important,” Breslow said. “And I think the way you get those types of factors out is by dealing with those types of people, dealing with the pitching staff, understanding the value of an additional coach on the staff, somebody who can move the whole clubhouse in the same direction. It is really very difficult. I wouldn’t say that because we can’t measure it, never mind.”

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MassLive recently interviewed two veteran scouts who predicted similar deals for Turner this winter. One suggested he would earn a one-year, $12.5 million contract with a $12.5 million club option through 2025. Another predicted a guaranteed two-year contract worth $28 million.