6 Red Sox players that won't be back next season
The 2023 season is mercifully over for the Boston Red Sox and we can expect big changes next season.
Boston Red Sox fans can find solace in the fact that the 2023 season is finally over and they can starting turning their attention to the offseason. While finishing the season six games below .500 and in dead last place in the AL East and having to find a new front office point person isn't ideal, this is an organization that has a lot going for it both in the minor leagues as well as with their big league roster with exciting young players like Masataka Yoshida, Jarren Duran, Brayan Bello, Kutter Crawford, Ceddanne Rafaela, and Triston Casas in the fold.
However, for Boston to turn this thing around, they are going to have to make the hard choices and cut the fat off this roster as they simply have too many players that aren't contributing right now. When you combine that need with the fact that Boston is also going to have some players leave of their own volition, you have a Red Sox team that is going to look quite different in 2024 regardless of who Boston hires to run their front office.
Here are 6 Red Sox players that won't be back next season
Not every player here is a lock to not come back in 2024 nor is this a wishlist of players that Boston should get rid of. Sure, it would be nice to get rid of the remainder of Chris Sale's contract, but that would have happened already if that were feasible and that money didn't get easier to move after this season. This list is a mix of pending free agents and guys with contract options that either shouldn't figure into Boston's future or who seem likely to move on to greener pastures next season.
Let's take a look at which Red Sox players won't be back for the 2024 season.
Corey Kluber
Kluber is probably the easiest choice on the list. When the Red Sox signed Corey Kluber, the hope was that he would be able to turn back the clock and put up a season or two of reasonable production on the mound with a slight chance that he could become the pitcher he once was.
Unfortunately, he did not come close to doing that in 2023 as he appeared in 15 games (9 starts) for Boston, posted a 7.04 ERA in 55 innings, and hasn't pitched since June while dealing with issues with his shoulder. The Red Sox hold a $11 million option for 2024 for Kluber, but they absolutely shouldn't exercise it and instead should focus on bringing in arms that have more upside and less injury risk. Plus, saving that $11 million makes Boston's potential pursuit of Shohei Ohtani all the more possible.
Justin Turner
This is a tough one because Justin Turner played well for the Red Sox this season. In 558 plate appearances for Boston in 2023, he put up 2.1 rWAR and a .276/.345/.455 slash line with 23 homers. He is not the same player he was during his prime with the Dodgers, but the guy can still flat out hit and seems to have been a positive influence on the Boston clubhouse this season.
The problem is that Turner has a player option worth $13.4 million for 2024 that also has a buyout worth $6.7 million. While Justin did seem to enjoy playing in Boston and the Red Sox would likely prefer for him to stick around, he also could probably make more by not exercising his option, taking that buyout, and then signing with a different team this offseason. Boston may not mind too much if that happens as that could make some roster/DH considerations regarding Yoshida, Casas, and others easier to manage, but it would be sad to see him go nonetheless.
Adam Duvall
Adam Duvall pretty did for the Red Sox what Adam Duvall usually does. He had streaks where he couldn't hit to save his life and other streaks where he looked like prime Barry Bonds at the plate and he sprinkled some injury down time in along the way. Overall, the production was completely fine as he hit 21 homers with an .834 OPS in 353 plate appearances.
If Boston were to keep him around, that would be great, but the pending free agent is likely to have some options in this offseason that could cause him to move on. This is not the most exciting free agent market this coming offseason when it comes to bats and as we saw at the trade deadline, teams may be motivated to pay a premium for the ones that are available. This feels like it could go either way, but leaning towards Duvall leaving.
James Paxton
James Paxton's 2023 season wasn't that dissimilar from Duvall's season with Boston. When he was on the mound, he was pretty good with a 4.50 ERA in 19 starts. However, he also missed some time due to injury (which is sadly not uncommon for him) and he faded badly in the second half of the season with a 6.98 ERA after the All-Star break after putting up a 2.73 mark in the first half of 2023.
This is another one that seemingly could go either way. Paxton wasn't expensive at all in 2023 at just $4 million and if he wanted to stay in Boston at a bargain rate, that would make a ton of sense to do. However, the best guess is that it might take a decent bit more than that to bring him back next season and with his injury history and how badly he dropped off down the stretch, the Red Sox should avoid committing too much to Paxton.
Adalberto Mondesi
It is never fun to talk about an injured guy's career in the past tense, but there is no real way to think about Adalberto Mondesi other than in that way. The Red Sox took a cheap flyer on him in the hopes that he would be able to recover from tearing his ACL and become a terror on the basepaths for them.
Unfortunately, that was not to be as his recovery was very, very slow and he experienced setbacks that basically shut down his rehab. At this point, it is fair to wonder if Mondesi will ever play baseball again given that the last word was that he still wasn't cleared to participate in baseball activities after two seasons on the shelf and about to hit the free agent market. Wherever he ends up, hopefully he can get healthy again as it would be a shame to see a guy that talented have his career completely torpedoed by an injury.
Joely Rodriguez
The Boston pitching staff is the area of the roster that is likely to need the most changes going into 2024. The starting rotation rightly is going to get the most press this offseason, but the bullpen needs some work as well and one of the first things the Red Sox needs to do is decline Joely Rodriguez's option for 2024.
While Joely's option is only for $4.25 million for 2024 which is reasonable for a decent bullpen arm, Rodriguez hasn't been able to clear that bar as he posted a 6.55 ERA in 11 appearances with the Red Sox and couldn't stay on the field in 2023 with multiple stints on the injured list. Boston can simply do better than Joely when it comes to bullpen arms especially when you factor in the health questions.
More Red Sox News from BoSox Injection
manual