The Red Sox made headlines last week when they finally signed Rafael Devers to an 11-year, $331 million contract extension. However, that’s not the only infielder that Boston fans should be excited about.
Veteran infielder Justin Turner officially signed with the Red Sox on Friday.
While signing Turner may seem like a smaller move, it’s one that could pay dividends in reshaping the Red Sox clubhouse.
Former Red Sox pitcher Rich Hill recently signed in Pittsburgh, making the Pirates his 12th MLB team. He's seen a thing or two and played with Turner on the Dodgers from 2016 to 2019.
Hill joined WEEI’s Rob Bradford on the Audacy Original Podcast “Baseball Isn’t Boring” and had high praise for the newest member of the Red Sox.
“I love guys who love to play the game and he loves to play the game. He posts every single day, comes to the field, and is a winner,” Hill said (28:32 in player above). “You can say that about a lot of guys but his dedication and his aptitude, his baseball IQ is up there with the best of them. I think again, you’re bringing a leader into the clubhouse for the Red Sox and they’re definitely lucky to have him.”
The addition of Turner isn’t going to turn the Red Sox into contenders, but the veteran has tons of experience and will bring that leadership into a younger locker room.
Even though it’s a one-year contract for the veteran, Turner has the track record to step in and be a leader right away.
“I think he can come in and be one of the leaders,” Hill continued. “If you look at the back of his baseball card he’s had a tremendous amount of success so coming into a locker room with that type of gravity, that … puts you in that category already.
Turner is a career .289 hitter and hasn’t hit below .275 in a full season since his time with the Mets in the early 2010s. He still has some power with 40 home runs in the last two seasons – although only 13 of them came in 2022.
The 38-year-old spent the last nine years with the Dodgers, winning the World Series in 2020. He’s been a consistent contributor in Los Angeles’ lineup and is likely to slot in at designated hitter for the Red Sox.
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