Will there be room for Turner at DH?
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — The Red Sox have had a primary designated hitter — one player with the vast majority of the plate appearances — since 2004, when future Hall of Famer David Ortiz settled into the job.
The only exception was in 2012, when injuries limited Ortiz to 81 games.
That could change next season.
Chief baseball officer Craig Breslow indicated this week that he favored a more flexible approach that would allow manager Alex Cora to use different players in the spot.
That would make it easier to match up against certain pitchers or give position players a bit of a break while keeping their bat in the lineup.
Where does that leave free agent Justin Turner, who has voiced a desire to return to the Sox?
Turner had an .800 OPS, 23 home runs, and 96 RBIs this past season with 424 of his 626 plate appearances coming as the DH.
Turner also was lauded for his clubhouse leadership and positive influence on younger players.
“What I feel really confident speaking to is the impact that he had on the team,” Breslow said Thursday. “Despite the fact that I wasn’t there, it was really clear just based on the way people spoke about him just how much he meant to the clubhouse, how much he meant to the organization, how much he meant to the city.
“Obviously, we have to figure out if he fits, how he fits.”
Turner, who turns 39 this month, provided righthanded power, an ingredient the Sox needed more of, even with his presence.
Turner was one of only eight players with 400 or more plate appearances as a DH last season.
The Diamondbacks tried to sign Turner a year ago before he chose the Red Sox. Arizona is likely to pursue him again, feeling his lineup presence and intangibles would be a good fit for a young team.
Building a base
Breslow has been speaking to Cora several times a day since taking the job.
“Often just quick bouncing ideas off of each other, quick check-ins, wanting to get his thoughts on something or he wants to get my thoughts on something,” Breslow said.
“These first couple of weeks have been really productive and hopefully we’ve established a kind of trust in each other but also an expectation in each other that we’re both vying for the same outcomes and we’re going to challenge each other and question each other.”
Breslow praised Cora’s abilities as a manager and said his goal was to give him support in leading the team.
“When it comes to in-game decisions, we can provide information to Alex and it’s up to Alex to execute based on what he’s seeing, his experiences, what the information tells him, and I’m really confident we’re going to see things very similarly,” he said.
Cora and Breslow were both members of the 2006 Red Sox but only briefly.
Successful trip
Breslow attended the General Managers Meetings and Winter Meetings when he was a Cubs executive. This was his first time leading a department over what can be a busy few days.
“Internally and externally it was good for the group of us to be together in this very intimate environment and be able to work pretty significantly for a few days,” he said. “It was great to be able to speak to other executives that I had known from afar and a chance to build relationships with and then meet with agents across the spectrum.”
Breslow had some experience connecting with other teams during his five seasons with the Cubs, typically reaching out to those rival executives he knew from his time as a player.
“It’s not something that’s foreign to me but it’s also something that others in the office have more experience with,” Breslow said.
Silver for Devers
Rafael Devers was the Silver Slugger winner at third base in the American League. He hit .271 with a .851 OPS, 33 homers, and 100 RBIs. Devers previously won the award in 2021 . . . The meetings came to an unexpected halt on Thursday with all remaining activities canceled because of an airborne virus that caused stomach issues. Several of the people with the Red Sox were among those who took ill, although Breslow avoided the bug . . . Now that he will be made available by the Orix Buffaloes, Yoshinobu Yamamoto is one of the top pitchers on the market. At 5 feet 10 inches, he’s perhaps a little short for a pitcher but easily makes up for it with his well-rounded abilities. An enterprising Japanese reporter asked Breslow if height was something that would concern him. “I hope not!” said Breslow, who pitched 12 years in the majors at 6 feet. Breslow went on to say that good players come in all sizes and shapes. The Sox are among the many teams that have scouted Yamamoto.