The 2024 Boston Red Sox do not have a designated hitter issue to impede their march to a championship; in fact, they have an abundance of potential recruits to fill that role.
In 2023, the Red Sox DH contingent collectively was ranked 14th in MLB, but a deep dive showed they were fourth in RBI. A plus was in this world of whiff acceptability; they ranked 30th with an impressive 15.8 K%, but the downside was a 27th position posting for walks at a 7.0BB% clip.
The bulk of DH responsibility was in the bats of Justin Turner and Masataka Yoshida. Turner slashed .282/.359/.440 was a DH over 98 games, slamming 14 home runs and bagging 60 RBI. Yoshida slashed .255/.317/.399 with three home runs and 12 RBI spread over 49 games.
The issue concerns Turner, whose contract may mean an exit into the free agent marketplace or a retirement. That segues into just who becomes the DH in 2024. Does it become one by committee, or will Boston seek to improve defensively by tossing another player into the role more permanently? A look at potential in-house options.