Six Red Sox players, including two of their top four home run hitters, are now free agents.
Justin Turner, who finished third among Red Sox hitters in homers with 23, declined his player option Friday to become a free agent. Adam Duvall, who finished with the fourth most homers (21), also elected free agency.
Below is a look at all the Red Sox free agents.
Red Sox free agents
Justin Turner: The DH/first baseman declined his $13.4 million player option for 2024 to become a free agent. It was an easy decision for Turner who received a $6.7 million buyout, meaning he left only $6.7 million on the table and he’ll make more than that in free agency.
Last week, MassLive polled two veteran scouts who predicted similar deals for Turner. One suggested he’ll receive a one-year, $12.5 million deal with a $12.5 million club option for 2025. The other predicted a guaranteed two-year deal worth $28 million.
Turner will turn 39 on Nov. 23. He batted .276 with a .345 on-base percentage, .455 slugging percentage, .800 OPS, 23 homers, 31 doubles, 86 runs, 96 RBIs, 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.
Adam Duvall: The 35-year-old outfielder batted only .247 with a .303 on-base percentage but he provided big right-handed power when he was healthy (54 games missed with a fractured wrist). He slugged (.531) with 21 homers, 24 doubles and two triples in 92 games (353 plate appearances). He finished with a .834 OPS and 58 RBIs. Swing and miss was an issue as he punched out in 31.2% of his plate appearances.
New chief baseball officer Craig Breslow already has mentioned the need for a right-handed hitter.
Outfielders Alex Verdugo, Masataka Yoshida, Jarren Duran and Wilyer Abreu all are left-handed hitters. Boston has just two right-handed hitting outfielders, Ceddanne Rafaela and Rob Refsnyder, with Duvall no longer on the 40-man roster. Refsnyder is a backup and Rafaela showed in September he’s probably not ready for a big role to begin the season because of chase issues.
Duvall received $7 million in 2023.
Adalberto Mondesí: The 28-year-old was a mystery man all season, not playing a single game during his Red Sox tenure.
The Red Sox traded for the shortstop/second baseman on Jan 24, 15 days after Trevor Story underwent major elbow surgery. Story ended up making it back before Mondesí who never made it back. He spent the entire season on the 60-day IL after there was some hope he would be on the Opening Day roster.
Mondesi received $3.045 million in his one season with Boston.
It should be interesting to see what type of interest Mondesí receives in free agency this winter after playing just 15 games since the beginning of 2022 and 109 games the past four seasons (2020-23).
James Paxton: The lefty, who will turn 35 on Monday, was Boston’s best starting pitcher for a three month period.
He went 7-3 with a 3.34 ERA and .230 opponent batting average in 16 starts from May 12 to Aug. 16. That’s after he had made just six starts total from 2020-23 because of multiple injuries, including a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his elbow that required Tommy John surgery in April 2021.
He struggled down the stretch, allowing 16 earned runs in 9 ⅔ innings over his final three starts. That stretch inflated his ERA to 4.50 in 19 starts total in 2023. He dealt with some right knee soreness throughout his season and the Red Sox placed him on the IL (right knee inflammation) Sept. 10, ending his season.
He showed he has a lot left in him. His fastball averaged 95.2 mph and he held opponents to a .194 batting average with his cutter and a .230 batting average with his curveball.
Corey Kluber: The Red Sox declined Kluber’s $11 million team option for 2024, making him a free agent.
Kluber was Boston’s 2023 Opening Day starter. But the 37-year-old righty struggled mightily, going 2-6 with a 6.26 ERA and 1.54 WHIP in nine starts (41 ⅔ innings), then the Red Sox demoted him to the bullpen. Kluber continued to struggle as a reliever, allowing 14 runs in 13 ⅓ innings (9.45 ERA).
He missed the final 88 games of 2023 after Boston placed him on the injured list June 21 with right shoulder inflammation.
He finished with a 7.04 ERA in 15 outings (nine starts). Opponents batted .297 against him. He allowed 69 hits (17 homers) in 55 innings.
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Joely Rodriguez: The Red Sox have declined Rodriguez’s $4.25 million team option for 2024.
They bought him out for $500,000 after an injury-plagued, ineffective 2023 season.
The lefty, who will turn 32 on Nov. 14, pitched in just 11 games. He allowed nine runs (eight earned runs), 13 hits, two homers and six walks while striking out 14 in 11 innings.
He went on the IL three times. He missed the first 41 games of the season after suffering a right oblique strain during spring training. He also missed 34 games with left shoulder inflammation and 58 games with right hip inflammation.
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