Red Sox agree to one-year contract with infielder Justin Turner

January 6th, 2023

BOSTON, MA—The Boston Red Sox today signed infielder Justin Turner to a one-year contract for the 2023 season, with a player option for 2024. To make room for Turner on the 40-man roster, Boston designated left-handed pitcher Darwinzon Hernandez for assignment.

Chief Baseball Officer Chaim Bloom made the announcement.

Turner, 38, has batted .289 (1,307-for-4,522) with an .832 OPS, 164 home runs, and 663 RBI over 1,393 games during his 14-year career with the Baltimore Orioles (2009-10), New York Mets (2010-13), and Los Angeles Dodgers (2014-22). A two-time National League All-Star (2017, ’21) and 2020 World Series champion, he has made 882 career starts at third base, 103 at second base, 30 at shortstop, 25 at first base, and 90 as the designated hitter. Turner finished among the top 15 in Most Valuable Player voting in 2016 (ninth), 2017 (eighth), and 2018 (14th), and has hit a career-high 27 home runs in a season three times (2016, ’19, ’21).

In 2022, Turner hit .278 (130-for-468) with 13 home runs, 81 RBI, and a career-high 36 doubles in 128 games for the Dodgers, making 66 starts at third base and 61 as the designated hitter. From June 30 through the end of the season, he led the majors in batting average (.349) and ranked third in OPS (.968) among players with at least 150 plate appearances, going 75-for-215 with nine home runs in 59 games during that span.

A right-handed hitter, Turner has batted .275 or better in each of the last 10 seasons, joining Freddie Freeman and Starling Marte as the only players in the majors to do so (min. 150 PA per season). Among Major Leaguers with at least 3,000 plate appearances during that span (2013-22), he ranked 11th in the majors in on-base percentage (.372) and 19th in OPS (.857). He has posted at least a .350 on-base percentage with fewer than 100 strikeouts in eight seasons, including each of the last six. Turner owns a .308 career batting average with runners in scoring position (320-for-1,038), having hit .339 (41-for-121) with a 1.008 OPS in 2022.

Appearing in each of the last nine Postseasons (2014-22), Turner has played in 86 career Postseason games, tied for 13th most all-time. The 2017 NLCS MVP, he is the Dodgers’ all-time leader in Postseason games (86), runs (43), hits (85), doubles (19), home runs (tied, 13), and RBI (42). Among active players in the Postseason, Turner ranks tied for second in games played, third in hits, and fourth in extra-base hits (33) and RBI (42).

A native of Long Beach, California, Turner was selected by the Cincinnati Reds in the seventh round of the 2006 First-Year Player Draft out of Cal State Fullerton. He won the 2022 Roberto Clemente Award, his fifth time being nominated by the Dodgers (also 2017, ’18, ’20, ’21). He and his wife, Kourtney, founded in 2016 the Justin Turner Foundation, whose mission is to support homeless veterans and children (and their families) battling life-altering illnesses and diseases, and to support various youth baseball organizations. In recognition of his impact on the local community, the Los Angeles City Council proclaimed January 22, 2019 as Justin Turner Day in Los Angeles. He is the only three-time winner of the Roy Campanella Award (2017, ’19, ’20), which is given to the Dodgers player who best exemplifies the spirit and leadership of the late Hall of Fame catcher.

Hernandez, 26, has made 91 career appearances (one start), all with Boston from 2019-22, posting a 5.06 ERA and 14.03 strikeouts per 9.0 innings (85.1 IP, 48 ER, 133 SO). In 2022, he allowed 16 earned runs over 6.2 innings in seven Major League outings while posting a 5.73 ERA (21 ER/33.0 IP) in 23 appearances (seven starts) with Triple-A Worcester.

BOSTON RED SOX 40-MAN ROSTER (40)

Pitchers (23): Matt Barnes, Brayan Bello, Ryan Brasier, Kutter Crawford, Franklin German, Tanner Houck, Kenley Jansen, Zack Kelly, Chris Martin, Bryan Mata, Wyatt Mills, Chris Murphy, Kaleb Ort, James Paxton, Nick Pivetta, Joely Rodríguez, Chris Sale, John Schreiber, Connor Seabold, Josh Taylor, Brandon Walter, Garrett Whitlock, Josh Winckowski

Catchers (2): Reese McGuire, Connor Wong

Infielders (6): Triston Casas, Bobby Dalbec, Rafael Devers, David Hamilton, Trevor Story, Justin Turner

Outfielders (5): Wilyer Abreu, Jarren Duran, Rob Refsnyder, Alex Verdugo, Masataka Yoshida

Infielder/Outfielders (4): Christian Arroyo, Kiké Hernández, Ceddanne Rafaela, Enmanuel Valdez