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Red Sox Notes: Turner, DH, Kluber

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Veteran free agent Justin Turner was among the most reliable hitters in Boston last year, slashing a solid .275/.345/.455 with 23 home runs and a 17.6% strikeout rate. Taken together, that offensive production was 14% better than league average by measure of wRC+ despite Turner posting his highest strikeout rate since 2014 and lowest walk rate since 2016. Though Turner declined his player option with the Red Sox and decided to test the open market ahead of his age-39 season, the infielder spoke to reporters recently (as relayed by MassLive’s Chris Cotillo) regarding his free agency and his desire to return to the Red Sox.

“I would love to be back and be with the Sox,” Turner said, “…what I’ve heard from all these guys is how amazing this town is when you’re making a playoff run. I want to be a part of that. It has been A-plus across the board in everything we’ve done and that’s with finishing in fifth place in the AL East. I want to know what it’s like to play in a playoff game for the Red Sox, not against them.”

Though Turner made his desire to remain in Boston clear, he also admitted that he’s fielded interest from more teams this season than he did as a free agent last year. Cotillo notes that the Dodgers, Diamondbacks, Marlins, and Angels all made offers to the veteran last year. The Diamondbacks are once again rumored to be interested in Turner’s services this offseason, though it’s unclear what other clubs may have interest in Turner this offseason. That uncertainty surrounds the Red Sox, themselves, as the club’s level of interest in Turner for 2024 and beyond isn’t entirely clear.

MassLive’s Sean McAdam recently suggested that the Red Sox “may be reluctant” to offer Turner a a two-year guarantee this offseason, noting that newly-minted chief baseball officer Craig Breslow has spoken of the DH as a way to rest players. While McAdam notes that Breslow would not rule out having one player serve as the club’s regular DH, a desire to utilize players such as Masataka Yoshida at DH could limit the club’s interest in a reunion with Turner, who played 98 games at DH and combined for less than 400 innings of work in the field split between first, second, and third base in 2023.

Turner isn’t the only newly-minted free agent to recently discuss his future after spending 2023 in Boston. Veteran right-hander Corey Kluber has returned to the open market after a tough season in Boston where he posted a 7.04 ERA (65 ERA+) with a 7.11 FIP in 55 innings of work while striking out just 16.3% of batters faced. On top of the brutal on-field performance, Kluber battled shoulder injuries throughout the year that ultimately left him sidelined for the season by late June. Kluber was noncommittal when asked if he intends to continue his playing career in 2024, with Alex Speier of the Boston Globe relaying that the veteran righty simply responded to the question with “we’ll see.”

Given his deep struggles in Boston this season, it’s somewhat difficult to imagine the sides coming together on a reunion even if Kluber decides to pitch next season. While the Red Sox are expected to make pitching help a priority this offseason, the club already has right-handers Nick Pivetta, Tanner Houck, Kutter Crawford, and Garrett Whitlock as starting caliber options alongside Chris Sale for the middle-to-back of the club’s rotation, and the addition of Kluber at this stage of his career would be unlikely to move the needle for a club more in need of impact than depth in the starting rotation.

Brutal as the 2023 season was for Kluber, the righty was one of the best pitchers in the game not long ago. The 37-year-old’s illustrious career includes two AL Cy Young awards and an ERA title in 2017. While Kluber is certainly not the same pitcher he was back then, he was an effective back-end starter for the Rays and Yankees the past two seasons and could potentially draw interest from a club in need of depth this offseason, should he prove healthy enough to continue his playing career.

Red Sox Sign Mark Contreras To Minor League Deal

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The Red Sox have signed outfielder Mark Contreras to a minor league contract, Baseball America’s Matt Eddy reports.  Contreras is changing teams for the first time in his pro career, as he had been a member of the Twins organization since he was selected in the ninth round of the 2017 draft, and until Minnesota released him in August.

That time in the Twin Cities did result in Contreras’ first stint as a big leaguer, as he played in 28 games for Minnesota during the 2022 season, hitting .121/.148/.293 over 61 plate appearances.  This lackluster output and the Twins’ crowded outfield picture meant that Contreras didn’t get any more MLB playing time in 2023, plus he didn’t force the issue by batting a modest .274/.352/.418 over 381 PA for Triple-A St. Paul last season.

Contreras (who turns 29 in January) has had a lot of problems avoiding strikeouts during his pro career, but he has posted decent numbers at the Triple-A level.  A solid defender who can play all three outfield positions, Contreras’ speed has helped both his defensive efforts and his offensive threat level, as he has stolen 93 bases in 126 chances during his minor league career.

With two minor league option years remaining, Contereras gives the Red Sox some possible extra depth to be kept at Triple-A should a need arise in the outfield.  Since the Twins outrighted him off their 40-man roster in August, Contreras now has the ability to reject any future outright assignments in favor of free agency, giving him a bit of extra leverage for the remainder of his career.

A Possible Yankees/Red Sox Trade That Makes Sense For Both Clubs

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One of the big offseason questions for the Yankees is how to proceed with Gleyber Torres. The veteran second baseman is one year from free agency, projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz for a $15.3MM salary in his final year of arbitration.

That’s still solid value for the team’s second-best hitter. Torres had a strong 2023 campaign, hitting .273/.347/.453 with 25 home runs across 672 plate appearances. With 23-year-old Oswald Peraza having reached the MLB level, there’s a case for the Yankees to move Torres for help elsewhere on the roster.

Chris Kirschner and Brendan Kuty of the Athletic reported on Wednesday that the Yankees had not engaged Torres’ camp on extension talks. Certainly, it’s early enough in the winter that they could still do so. Yet there hasn’t seemed much urgency on the part of the organization to keep Torres beyond his control window. During 2023 Spring Training, the infielder replied “I wish” when asked by ESPN’s Marly Rivera whether there had been any extension talks before he and the team agreed to a one-year arbitration deal.

The absence of an extension doesn’t mean the Yankees need to make a trade. They could retain Torres for a final season and potentially make him a qualifying offer next winter. Since they’re likely to exceed the luxury tax in 2024, the compensation pick would presumably fall after the fourth round if Torres declines a QO and signs with another team. New York could find a more valuable return this winter if they feel comfortable with Peraza stepping into an everyday second base role.

One potential trade partner: the archrival Red Sox. Rob Bradford of WEEI wrote yesterday that Boston identified Torres as a trade target during the 2023 season. Meanwhile, Sean McAdam of MassLive.com reports that the Yankees have shown prior interest in Boston right fielder Alex Verdugo, whom they could again pursue this offseason.

There’s merit to a potential swap involving Torres and Verdugo. Each is one year from free agency. Verdugo, as a left-handed hitting outfielder who rarely strikes out, is the type of player that Yankees GM Brian Cashman is openly targeting. The Red Sox have Jarren Duran and Masataka Yoshida alongside Verdugo as lefty-swinging outfielders. Boston’s first-year chief baseball officer Craig Breslow indicated this week they’ve already received interest in Verdugo from other teams.

Torres is the better player. Verdugo is coming off a .264/.324/.421 showing and has been a roughly league average hitter in three straight seasons. He has solid grades in right field but isn’t a fit in center. Torres has greater positional value as a middle infielder, even if he’s not a particularly strong defensive second baseman.

That makes Verdugo a little more affordable financially, however. Swartz projects him for a $9.2MM salary, roughly $6MM below the Torres estimate. The difference might not be enough for the Yankees to accept a direct one-for-one swap, but they’re close enough in trade value that it’s not hard to see the match on paper.

It should be noted that Boston’s reported interest in Torres this past season came under previous chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom. Breslow, hired three weeks ago, may have a different evaluation. With a lackluster second base group headlined by Pablo Reyes and Enmanuel Valdez, the desire for help at the position remains. Breslow indicated this week that the team could look for a second baseman, ideally one who hits from the right side. Bradford writes that some members of the Boston organization still view Torres as a good fit. With middle infield prospects Nick Yorke and Marcelo Mayer likely one season from MLB readiness, a veteran bridge at the position aligns with the organizational timeline.

The biggest obstacle may just be the acrimony between the organizations. The Red Sox and Yankees are unsurprisingly infrequent trade partners. They’ve lined up on deals just three times in the past 25 years. New York acquired minor league outfielder Greg Allen this past May. The Sox essentially “bought” prospect Frank German by taking on the Adam Ottavino contract in 2021. The teams swapped struggling veterans Stephen Drew and Kelly Johnson at the 2014 deadline.

A deal involving Verdugo and Torres (or even a trade featuring just one of the two) would be much more notable than any of those transactions. There’s an argument that each player is a better fit for the other team’s roster as currently constructed. With both clubs trying to jump from the bottom half of the AL East back to the postseason, it’s one of various paths they could consider in the weeks to come.

MLBTR Podcast: Top 50 Free Agents Megapod (with Tim Dierkes, Steve Adams and Anthony Franco)

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The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.

This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Tim Dierkes, Steve Adams and Anthony Franco of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss this year’s list of the Top 50 Free Agents! Specific areas of discussion were…

Check out our past episodes!

Red Sox Prioritizing Starting Pitching Help

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The Red Sox are going into their first offseason with Craig Breslow as chief baseball officer and he is setting his sights on upgrading the club’s rotation, though he isn’t specifying exactly how many pitchers he plans on bringing in. “I think we need to be open-minded,” Breslow said, per Christopher Smith of MassLive. “Starting pitching is certainly a priority for us. But to kind of try and forecast exactly a number or anything kind of more specific than that probably doesn’t make sense.”

It’s not an especially surprising pursuit for the Sox, since the rotation was a weak spot for the club in 2023. Their starters as a whole put up an earned run average of 4.68 for the year, which placed them 22nd out of the 30 clubs in the league. There are some talented names on the roster but each has concerns around health or inconsistency or both, with Chris Sale, Nick Pivetta, Brayan Bello, Kutter Crawford, Tanner Houck and Garrett Whitlock the candidates for rotation jobs right now.

Sale hardly pitched from 2020 to 2022 due to various injuries. He was able to log 102 2/3 innings in 2023 but with an ERA of 4.30. Pivetta struggled enough to get bumped to the bullpen but finished in good form, whereas Bello was stronger in the first half but faded down the stretch. Crawford had a 4.04 ERA this year with good peripherals, though it’s unclear if that’s sustainable since he’s never been a highly-touted prospect. Houck has shown some potential, but injuries have continually kept him in the range of 100-120 innings. The same is largely true for Whitlock, though he hasn’t even reached 100 frames since 2018.

Though they theoretically have six options for five rotation spots, there are arguments for skepticism with each one. Breslow says that Houck and Whitlock will still be stretched out, per Alex Speier of the Boston Globe, but they could be pivoted back to the bullpen later. Both pitchers have had better results as relievers, with Houck having an ERA of 2.68 out of the ’pen and Whitlock a 2.65 in his career, whereas they have starting ERAs of 4.17 and 4.76 respectively. That doesn’t necessarily mean they can’t be effective starters in the future, but it stands to reason that the club might not be willing to bank on them.

Smith adds that the club spoke to the representatives of free agent lefty Jordan Montgomery, though it might be best not to read too much into that. For one, Montgomery is represented by Scott Boras, who also reps a great number of other players. Secondly, Breslow tells Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe that it’s fair to assume they will talk to every agent who represents a starting pitcher and every team that could trade one.

It seems all options are on the table, including players who received a qualifying offer. “It’s a consideration like the host of other variables that you need to consider when you make a decision around these players,” Breslow says in Smith’s report. “So I think we need to look at the totality of the situation in order to figure out how much of a consequence it is for one over another.” Blake Snell, Sonny Gray and Aaron Nola were the three traditional starters to receive QOs, as well as two-way player Shohei Ohtani, who won’t pitch in 2024. Signing one of those players would require the Red Sox to forfeit their second-highest pick in the upcoming draft and $500K of international bonus pool money, but it sounds like that’s not off the table.

Elsewhere, it sounds like the club is leaning towards adding a right-handed hitter who can play second base, though they won’t be strictly limiting themselves in that search. “I think positional versatility helps,” Breslow said, per Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic. “I don’t think it makes a ton of sense to kind of typecast that to a right-handed bat who can only DH. But I think we have to be open-minded about the ways to improve the team. Given that we’re pretty left-handed, it makes sense to set our sights on somebody who can hit right-handed.”

The club’s lineup does indeed skew to the left side, with regular at-bats slated for players like Rafael Devers, Jarren Duran, Triston Casas, Masataka Yoshida and Alex Verdugo, though Breslow earlier admitted that Verdugo’s name has come up in trade talks. Some righty bats include Teoscar Hernández and Jorge Soler, though the Sox might be a better fit for a second baseman than an outfielder. The market is fairly limited there but Whit Merrifield and Amed Rosario are a couple of right-handed bats that likely won’t cost much. Speaking of Casas and Duran, who both finished the season on the injured list, Breslow provided updates on the progression of both players to Abraham. Casas has progressed to weight-bearing exercises in his recovery from turf toe surgery. Casas, who was hampered by shoulder inflammation, has healed and is now close to starting a hitting program.

Catcher could theoretically be another place to add but it sounds like the Sox feel good about Connor Wong there. “Very comfortable,” Breslow said about Wong. “We feel good about the catching situation. That’s not to say that we should be closed-minded about opportunities to improve the team. But I think we’re all really happy with him.” Wong got the bulk of the playing time in 2023 and hit just .235/.288/.385 but there were some encouraging defensive grades. It doesn’t sound like an addition here is totally off the table but the pitching is clearly a bigger focus.

Breslow: Red Sox Receiving Trade Inquiries On Alex Verdugo

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Newly minted Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow candidly acknowledged to reporters at the GM Meetings today that he’s already received trade interest in outfielder Alex Verdugo (via Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe). While there’s no indication that a deal is at all close, it’s nevertheless notable to hear a baseball operations leader willingly offer up that they’ve received trade interest in a player of note.

Verdugo stands as a logical offseason trade candidate for a few reasons. Boston fielded interest in the outfielder prior to the trade deadline but ultimately didn’t receive an offer to the now-former front office regime’s liking. The 27-year-old Verdugo is also entering his final season of club control and doing so at a time when Boston is at least relatively deep in outfield alternatives. Jarren Duran, Masataka Yoshida, Wilyer Abreu and top prospect Ceddanne Rafaela are all options to start in the outfield. Given the light free-agent market for hitters, Verdugo could hold some extra appeal to teams looking for bats. he turned in a solid .264/.324/.421 batting line this past season and is a .281/.338/.424 hitter in four seasons with the Sox.

While Verdugo was open about his desire to sign an extension with Boston over the summer, no deal materialized. To the contrary, his name actually surfaced in trade rumblings about a month later. While a swap didn’t come together, the juxtaposition was still notable. Verdugo also appeared to clash with skipper Alex Cora, to an extent, on multiple occasions; he was benched both in May and in August — first for not running out a grounder and secondly for a late arrival to the park.

Verdugo told The Athletic’s Jen McCaffrey in October that he had no hard feelings, hoped to remain in Boston, and attributed some of those mental lapses to dealing with family and personal issues away from the field. “I’m not here to read out my sob story, but at the end of the day, I am still a human,” he said at the time. “I’m still a person. When your family is affected, when your family’s not doing the best, it weighs on you.”

The 2023 season was an uneven one for Verdugo, who hit at an All-Star level for four months but endured woeful slumps in July (.151/.232/.247) and September (.178/.208/.301). The rest of his season was strong enough — June in particular — that he still finished out the year with roughly league-average offensive output, but it was still the least-productive full season of his big league career to date.

It’s common for incoming front office personnel to shake up the roster and to show less loyalty to players who might’ve been drafted, developed and/or acquired by the former regime. That’s worth bearing in mind as Breslow takes over; he’s not the one who acquired Verdugo from the Dodgers as part of the Mookie Betts/David Price blockbuster — that falls to Chaim Bloom.

MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects Verdugo to earn $9.2MM in his final season of arbitration eligibility — a perfectly reasonable price point for a solid, if not quite star-caliber outfielder. That’s all the more true in an offseason market where free agency is light on quality MLB hitters — particularly those who are anywhere near their physical prime. Were he a free agent right now, Verdugo would surely be a sought-after bat in position to land a multi-year deal. Being able to acquire him on a one-year pact in the $9-10MM range should hold broad appeal. That’s all the more true given Verdugo’s strong defensive ratings in right field this year.

Plenty of teams will be on the hunt for outfield help. The Guardians, Astros, Braves, White Sox, Marlins and archrival Yankees are among the teams likely in that camp (not that any have yet been tied specifically to Verdugo). Last month, MLBTR’s Nick Deeds took a look at some possible fits in the event that Verdugo were to hit the market.

Justin Garza Elects Free Agency

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TODAY: Garza has cleared waivers and elected free agency, per Julian McWilliams of the Boston Globe.

Nov 2: The Red Sox have sent reliever Justin Garza through outright waivers, reports Alex Speier of the Boston Globe (Twitter link). That clears a spot on the 40-man roster.

Boston claimed Garza off waivers from the Angels at the end of April. The right-hander made 17 appearances, tallying 18 1/3 innings. He allowed a 7.36 ERA with a modest 18.7% strikeout percentage while walking more than 13% of batters faced. Garza spent a bit more time at Triple-A Worcester, where he tossed 28 innings of 4.82 ERA ball.

The 29-year-old will have the ability to test minor league free agency. Garza owns a 3.98 ERA through 101 2/3 frames in parts of three seasons at Triple-A. He averaged around 95 MPH on his fastball and could find minor league interest as a depth option.

Dick Drago Passes Away

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Former starting pitcher Dick Drago has passed away on Thursday at the age of 78, as noted by Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe. Drago pitched for the Royals, Red Sox, Angels, Orioles, and Mariners throughout his big league career, which spanned 13 seasons from 1969 to 1981. The Royals and Red Sox both mourned the loss on X this morning, extending sympathies to Drago’s friends and family.

Drago’s big league career began as a member of the inaugural Royals team in 1969, a team for which he quickly emerged as one of the better starting options. Drago posted a 3.77 ERA with a 3.67 FIP across 200 2/3 innings of work during his rookie campaign, throwing 10 complete games and appearing in 41 with 26 starts. He largely repeated those results during the 1970 season with even more volume, pitching to a 3.75 ERA and 3.65 FIP across 240 innings of work.

The righty’s star shined brightest during the 1971 campaign, however. Across 35 appearances (34 starts) for Kansas City that year, Drago posted a 2.98 ERA with a nearly matching 2.99 FIP. He did that across 241 1/3 innings of work, recording 15 complete games with four shutouts among them. Drago’s performance led the Royals to the club’s first season above .500 in the young franchise’s history and earned him a fifth-place finish in AL Cy Young award voting that year while the trophy ultimately went to Vida Blue.

Drago ultimately spent two more seasons in Kansas City, pitching to a 3.58 ERA and 3.47 FIP across a combined 452 innings of work those seasons. In 1974, Drago began his first stint in Boston, which would only last two seasons. That included, of course, the club’s 1975 World Series run that saw them lose the World Series in seven games against the Reds. While Drago pitched just 72 2/3 innings of 3.84 ERA baseball with the Red Sox during the regular season that year, his contributions in four appearances out of the Boston bullpen during the playoffs were far more impressive: Drago allowed just one run in 8 2/3 innings of work across four appearances that postseason against the A’s and Reds.

After converting to relief work in the 1975 season Drago spent two seasons pitching out of the bullpen for the Angels (for whom he gave up the final home run of Hank Aaron’s career in 1976) and the Orioles, with a 3.99 ERA and 3.86 FIP in 140 innings of work across those two seasons, before returning to Boston in 1978. His second stint with the club lasted three seasons, and saw him do some of his best work as a reliever: he posted identical 3.03 ERAs in back-to-back campaigns in ’78 and ’79 before reaching 100 innings pitched in a season for the first time since 1974, his first season with the Red Sox, during the 1980 campaign, his final in Boston.

Drago’s career then came to a close in 1981, after 39 appearances with the Mariners. Over his 13-season big league career, Drago posted a 3.62 ERA and 3.58 FIP with an above-average ERA+ of 103 across 1875 innings of work. He appeared in 519 games, struck out 987 batters, and accrued 108 wins throughout his career. We at MLB Trade Rumors extend our condolences to Drago’s family, friends, fans and former teammates.

Red Sox Decline Club Option On Joely Rodriguez

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The Red Sox announced earlier this evening that the club has declined its club option on the services of left-hander Joely Rodriguez for the 2024 season. In lieu of exercising the $4.25MM option, the team will instead pay Rodriguez a $500K buyout to return to the open market.

The decision is hardly a surprising one, even though Rodriguez looked like an interesting pickup for Boston when he was signed to a $2MM guarantee last offseason. At the time of the signing, Rodriguez had spent the prior three seasons with the Rangers, Yankees, and Mets, pitching to a combined 4.28 ERA in 119 games with a sterling 3.14 FIP and a solid 25.5% strikeout rate. While those numbers indicated that the 31-year-old Rodriguez could be at least a solid middle reliever from the left side with perhaps even potential for a higher leverage role, that did not come to pass in 2023.

Instead of reaching the potential he has flashed in the past, Rodriguez suffered through an injury-marred season with the Red Sox this year. After starting the year on the injured list due to an oblique issue, Rodriguez then missed time with a shoulder strain and a recurring hip problem that eventually ended his season. All told, Rodriguez pitched just 11 innings for the Red Sox this year during which he allowed nine runs (eight earned) on 13 hits and six walks while striking out 14.

As Rodriguez returns to the open market, it’s certainly feasible that the lefty could be a quality bullpen arm for a club in 2024 if he manages to get healthy. That being said, between his lost 2023 campaign and past results that trended closer to average than the above-average production his underlying metrics might indicate, it seems likely that Rodriguez will be forced to settle for a minor league deal ahead of his age-32 campaign.

Looking toward the Red Sox, the bullpen in Boston is fairly well set up with Kenley Jansen and Chris Martin both returning for the late innings, not to mention the likes of Garrett Whitlock and Josh Winckowski. That said, with both Rodriguez and Richard Bleier headed to the open market this winter, it’s certainly reasonable to wonder if the club could look for another left-handed relief option to pair with Brennan Bernardino in the bullpen. The free agent market has plenty of options available in the regard, including veteran set-up arms like Matt Moore and Will Smith.

Justin Turner Declines Player Option

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The Red Sox announced a pair of option decisions Friday evening. Infielder Justin Turner has declined his $13.4MM player option in favor of a $6.7MM buyout. Meanwhile, the team declined its $11MM provision on right-hander Corey Kluber.

Turner signed with Boston last offseason. He inked a two-year, $21.7MM guarantee that always looked likely to send him back to the market after one season. Turner locked in an $8.3MM base salary, an extra $1MM in incentives, and the hefty buyout — which only required he’d top $6.7MM on his next contract to come out on top.

There’s no doubt he’ll beat that number after another strong season. The right-handed hitter posted a .276/.345/.455 line while connecting on 23 home runs over 626 plate appearances. The presence of Rafael Devers and Triston Casas at the infield corners consigned Turner primarily to designated hitter work. It raises questions about whether he could be an everyday third base option for another team as he enters his age-39 season.

Despite his age, there’s little doubt that Turner still projects as one of the better hitters in the class. He has topped 20 homers in two of the past three seasons, running a .277/.352/.455 slash since the start of 2021. Turner still has plus contact skills and good plate discipline.

The Kluber signing worked out a lot less favorably. Boston inked the two-time Cy Young winner to a $10MM guarantee. Kluber had turned in 164 innings with a 4.34 ERA for the Rays a season ago. His stint in Boston didn’t go well, as he was tagged for a 7.04 ERA through 55 frames. The right-hander struggled both during an early-season stint from the rotation and following a bullpen transfer in May.

Making matters worse, Kluber landed on the injured list on June 21 with inflammation in his throwing shoulder. He suffered a setback a month later and never returned to the big league club, although he did pitch twice for Triple-A Worcester in September. There was never any chance the Sox were going to retain him for $11MM. Assuming he wants to continue playing, the 38-year-old could conduct some offseason showcases in hopes of finding a major league contract elsewhere.

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