Two of the Red Sox’s top four home run hitters and six other players are now free agents.
With 23 home runs, Justin Turner tied for third place among Red Sox hitters, but he declined his player option on Friday, making him a free agent. Free agency was also chosen by Adam Duvall, who ended with the fourth-most home runs (21).
A list of every Red Sox free agent is provided below.
Red Sox undrafted players
Justin Turner: The first baseman and designated hitter chose not to exercise his $13.4 million player option for 2024 and will now be a free agent. Turner had the option to accept a $6.7 million buyout, which means he only had to forfeit $6.7 million and will earn more in free agency.
Two seasoned scouts who were surveyed by MassLive last week predicted comparable deals for Turner. According to one, he’ll get a $12.5 million contract for one year plus a $12.5 million club option for 2025. The other projected a $28 million two-year contract that was guaranteed.
On November 23, Turner will turn 39. In 146 games (626 plate appearances), he batted.276 with a.345 on-base percentage, a.455 slugging percentage, a.800 OPS, 23 home runs, 31 doubles, 86 runs, 96 RBIs, 51 walks, and 110 strikeouts. He began 98 games as a designated hitter, 35 at first base, 7 at third base, and 4 at second base.
Adam Duvall: Despite missing 54 games due to a fractured wrist, the 35-year-old outfielder batted just.247 with a.303 on-base percentage. However, when healthy, he offered strong right-handed power. With 21 home runs, 24 doubles, and two triples in 92 games (353 plate appearances), he slugged (.531). In the end, he had 58 RBIs and an OPS of.834. Given that he punched out in 31.2% of his plate appearances, swing and miss was a problem.
Craig Breslow, the new chief baseball officer, has already stated that a right-handed hitter is required.
Wilyer Abreu, Jarren Duran, Masataka Yoshida, and Alex Verdugo are all left-handed hitters in the outfield. Ceddanne Rafaela and Rob Refsnyder are Boston’s only two right-handed hitters; Duvall is no longer included in the 40-man roster. Because of his pursuit issues, Refsnyder is a backup, and Rafaela demonstrated in September that he is probably not ready for a major role to start the season.
Adalberto Mondesí: The 28-year-old spent his entire season as a mystery, missing just one game while with the Red Sox.
Only fifteen days after Trevor Story underwent extensive elbow surgery, the Red Sox acquired the shortstop/second baseman on January 24. The narrative ultimately returned before Mondesí, who never did. There was some hope that he would be on the Opening Day roster, but instead he spent the entire season on the 60-day injured list. Over the course of his one season with Boston, Mondesi earned $3.045 million. After playing just 15 games since the start of 2022 and 109 games over the previous four seasons (2020–23), it will be interesting to see what kind of interest Mondesí receives in free agency this winter.
James Paxton: For three months, the left-hander, who turns 35 on Monday, was Boston’s best starting pitcher.
From May 12 to August 16, he was 7-3 with a 3.34 ERA and a.230 opponent batting average in 16 starts. That came after he had only made six starts in total between 2020 and 2023 due to a variety of ailments, including an elbow ulnar collateral ligament tear that necessitated Tommy John surgery in April 2021.
In his final three starts, he gave up 16 earned runs in 9 ⅔ innings as he faltered towards the end. His ERA increased to 4.50 in 19 starts during that stretch in 2023. Throughout the season, he experienced some right knee soreness, and on September 10, the Red Sox placed him on the injured list due to right knee inflammation, which ended his season.
He displayed how much life is still in him. With his cutter, he held opponents to a batting average of.194 and his curveball, a batting average of.230. His fastball averaged 95.2 mph.
Corey Kluber: Kluber became a free agent after the Red Sox rejected his $11 million 2024 team option.
Kluber started on Opening Day for Boston in 2023. However, in nine starts (41 ⅔ innings), the 37-year-old righty struggled miserably, going 2-6 with a 6.26 ERA and 1.54 WHIP before the Red Sox demoted him to the bullpen. With a 9.45 ERA after allowing 14 runs in 13 ⅓ innings, Kluber’s troubles as a reliever persisted.
Due to inflammation in his right shoulder, Boston placed him on the injured list on June 21, 2023, causing him to miss the last 88 games of the season.
His final ERA was 7.04 over 15 appearances (nine starts). He was batting.297 against opponents. In 55 innings, he gave up 69 hits, including 17 home runs.
Joely Rodriguez: The $4.25 million team option for 2024 has been rejected by the Red Sox.
They acquired him for $500,000 following a 2023 season marred by injuries and lacklustre performance. With his 32nd birthday on November 14, the left-hander only appeared in 11 games. In 11 innings, he struck out 14 and gave up nine runs (eight earned), 13 hits, two home runs, and six walks.
He made three trips on the IL. He suffered a right oblique strain during spring training, which kept him out of the first 41 games of the season. He also missed 34 games due to inflammation in his left shoulder and 58 games due to inflammation in his right hip.
