Inside The Red Sox

Free-Agent Red Sox Slugger 'Engaged In Talks' With Big-Market Team

Boston could lose a marquee bat
Scott Neville|
Free-Agent Red Sox Slugger 'Engaged In Talks' With Big-Market Team
Free-Agent Red Sox Slugger 'Engaged In Talks' With Big-Market Team

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Boston Red SoxNew York Mets

The Boston Red Sox will soon be forced to decide what to do with one of their most prolific bats from a season ago. 

Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow appears to be against the idea of a designated hitter, instead using the role with a rotation of sluggers to fill the vacancy. 

With that said, Breslow also revealed that the team was still in contact with Justin Turner at the Winter Meetings. If they do intend to bring him back, they'll have to act fast. The Red Sox are far from the only team interested.

"The Mets, according to a source, have been engaged in discussions with Turner’s camp after initiating contact with the former All-Star early in the offseason," the New York Post's Mike Puma wrote Friday night.

Turner hit .276 with 54 extra-base hits including 23 home runs, 96 RBIs and a .800 OPS (114 OPS+) in 146 games in his debut season with the Red Sox. He would have produced at an even greater level had he not battled a heel injury for the bulk of the second half.

The 39-year-old was a seamless fit in Boston both on and off the field and has repeatedly expressed his desire to remain with the Red Sox. 

Unfortunately, Breslow's aforementioned philosophical difference from his predecessors could prove to render a reunion impossible.

With Shohei Ohtani officially off the market, Turner will start to garner serious interest from a slew of potential suiters after an All-Star caliber season.

For the Mets, they need both overall offensive firepower and someone who can at least occasionally man third base after top prospect Ronny Mauricio tore his ACL in the Dominican Winter League.

More MLB: Astros Ace Available; Red Sox Are Logical Trade Partners For Two-Time All-Star

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Scott Neville
SCOTT NEVILLE

Scott Neville covers the Boston Red Sox for Sports Illustrated's new page "Inside The Red Sox." Before starting "Inside The Red Sox", Neville attended Merrimack College, where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Communication and Media with a minor in Marketing. Neville spent all four years with Merrimack's radio station WMCK, where he grew as a radio/podcast host and producer.  His propensity for being in front of a microphone eventually expanded to film, where he produced multiple short films alongside his then-roommate and current co-worker Stephen Mottram. On a journey that began as a way to receive easy credits via film classes, he received a call from "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia" star Charlie Day. Day advised him to make a feature-length film, which he completed his senior year. While writing the film, Neville completed an internship for United Way as part of their NFL Partnership Program. Neville ran the blog for a team of interns and hosted an internet show called "United Way's NFL Partnership Series" where he interviewed NFL alumni. After college Neville wrote for SB Nation's "Over The Monster," a Red Sox sister site of the flagship brand. His work would eventually lead him to a job as a content producer with NESN, where he would cover all sports. After developing as a writer with the top regional network in the world, he was given the opportunity to join the Sports Illustrated Media Group in his current endeavor as the publisher of "Inside The Red Sox." The successful launch and quick rise of "Inside The Red Sox" led to Neville joining the Baseball Essential ownership group, a national baseball site under SIMG. Follow him on Twitter: @ScottNeville46 Email: nevilles@merrimack.edu

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