When the Red Sox signed Justin Turner to a free agent deal over the winter, it was with the idea of having him fill their DH role, one that had been handled almost exclusively by J.D. Martinez for each of the past five seasons.
The Red Sox also viewed Turner as a right-handed alternative at first base, providing protection for Triston Casas.
But there was another element in their pursuit of Turner, too, one that didn't show up on a stat sheet.
The Red Sox were in need of a leader, a veteran voice in the clubhouse. During the offseason, the team allowed a number of veterans -- Martinez, Xander Bogaerts, Nathan Eovaldi and Rich Hill -- to leave via free agency and there was an obvious leadership vacuum within the team.
The new face of the franchise, Rafael Devers, is just 26 and has yet to reach the point where he can comfortably assert himself. The longest-tenured player on the roster is Chris Sale and despite his standing and credentials, pitchers traditionally have a tough time assuming a leadership position.
In Turner, the Red Sox found someone who has had a long and successful career, and was accustomed to playing in a winning environment. In every one of his nine seasons with the Los Angeles Dodgers, his team qualified for the postseason and three times got the World Series, winning a title in the pandemic-shortened season of 2020. Winning became a way of life for Turner, with the expectation that anything except a deep run into October would be deemed unacceptable.
Meanwhile, the Red Sox' boom-bust pattern in recent seasons has resulted in just one trip to the playoffs in the last four years, and the Sox believed" bringing in someone from where winning had become habitual would be a good influence on the team's younger core. Playing in Boston is not for the faint of heart, and it's not for everyone. Having a stabilizing factor like Turner would prove beneficial to all.
"When we look at guys we want to bring in,'' said chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom, "we're looking for winning players who will embrace all of what the Boston baseball experience brings, who are good teammates, who are focused on the right things.''
While a quality player, Turner is far from a Hall of Famer, or even a perennial All-Star. He wasn't a first-round pick, with an easy and obvious path to stardom. To the contrary, he wasn't an everyday regular until he was almost 30, and on his third organization. But precisely because he had to claw and scrap for everything he got, Turner could relate to the struggles of nearly everyone on a roster.
Unsure of whether you have what ti takes to stick in the big leagues? Turner can identify with that self-doubt.
Playing for your third team in the span of five years? Turner had been there, done that.
In an offseason podcast interview, Kiké Hernandez surprised some by noting that the Sox needed to change the "clubhouse culture' of a year ago, maintaining that, by the end of 2022, too many players became comfortable with being in last place. Manager Alex Cora took issue with the characterization, pointing out that the Sox continued to play hard right through the final series of the season.
But Cora didn't disagree with Hernandez's larger point: the Sox could use a new voice, someone who would hold teammates accountable and challenge them when necessary. In Turner, the Sox think they have found their man.
"I think it's his ability to communicate,'' said Hernandez in identifying what makes Turner such a good leader. "He's a very good communicator. He's got a good feel to pick the right times to talk. If you tend to be a good communicator, you tend to have good relationships and that's what a good leader's all about. He's kind of seen it all, gone through a lot of ups and downs. Earlier in his career, he got let go by a couple of teams and when he got to L.A., he was still a part-time player who had to earn his stripes and become the player that he is now by performing, and performing and performing.
"That's relatable to a lot of players, and I think it's the same (path) taken by (Cora) as well.''
Indeed, Cora was something of a journeyman who managed to forge a 14-year playing career with six different teams. But a manager is a manager and while Cora has always earned high marks for his communication skills, his is a different relationship with players. Cora is ultimately the boss -- a relatable one to be sure, but a boss nonetheless, determining lineups, playing time, roles and disciplinary matters.
A teammate, meanwhile, is more of a co-worker, who can offer help and advice as a colleague and contemporary.
Hernandez watched Turner grow into that role in Los Angeles, but it didn't happen overnight. He began to assert himself more in 2016, and by the following year, Hernandez recalled, players from all backgrounds were gravitating toward him.
Though he can be expressive and vocal in the dugout during games, Turner is more of a presence in the clubhouse or on the field during batting practice. He'll seek out players who are struggling, offering support and guidance.
"In the dugout,'' said Hernandez, "the game happens so fast that you've got to really pick your spots to do certain things, and when you're playing every day, it can get tough. You've got to hit and everything else, so there's not much time to address things. He's more of a clubhouse presence.''
Asked to cite someone on whom Turner had a big impact, Hernandez doesn't have to look far.
"I was one of those guys,'' said Hernandez. "It's one of the main reasons I was pushing so aggressively (for the Sox to sign) him. He's had a big influence on his career. I can attest to that. I hit .190 for a full season in 2016, when there were some things going on off the field for me that led to me not being there the whole time. He was a guy who was keeping me focused, making sure I was OK and doing fine with my mental state.''
Closer Kenley Jansen, who pitched for the Dodgers for a dozen years before a one-year detour in Atlanta in 2022, also witnessed Turner's impact in L.A.
"JT has earned every single moment he's had in the big leagues,'' said Jansen. "He didn't have anything handed to him. And when you have a guy go through a lot of things like that and figure out, on his own, how to be good for a long time, you want to have a guy like that around. It shows how tough he is mentally. He just gets it. You can rely on JT, you can lean on him. He's always there for you.
"You see the same JT, on a good day or a bad day. To have a player like that -- not emotional, always there when you need him. When he's having a tough week, you don't 'know it because he's concentrating on helping you get better, to push you. He's a really good personality for the Red Sox to have in this locker room. I wasn't here, obviously, last year, but having him around, I'm telling you, players are going to love him.''
Like Hernandez, Jansen doesn't have to think long to recall a time when Turner stepped up and pointed him in the right direction.
"In 2019, I was getting my brains beat in,'' said Jansen. "I got a phone call from him. Something had happened in the clubhouse -- it wasn't a huge thing -- but he got my attention. The way he talked, the way he pushed me -- it was what I needed.''
Turner's contributions aren't all about morale or encouragement. He's a student of hitting, and, like Cora, a master at discerning when an opponent might be tipping pitches. He might offer a pointer to teammate about how to approach an at-bat, or find the tiniest competitive edge.
Always, it's about contributing whatever he can to make teammates better.
Reliever Chris Martin joined the Dodgers at the trade deadline last summer, but it didn't take long for him to recognize the value of having someone like Turner as a teammate.
"You could tell, right away, those guys respected him,'' Martin said. "I would notice a lot of guys going to him for hitting advice, things like that. Me personally, getting to know him, he was great. He's very approachable and just a great teammate. I had faced him a lot over the years, and he gave me some feedback and a lot of hitters won't do that. But he was open, and helped me out.
"His thing is trying to help everyone around him. He's trying to make other guys better, and that's what being a good teammate is all about.''
Typically, players who change organizations tend to take some time before being comfortable asserting themselves. The last thing a newcomer wants is to presume he's already earned the right to become a leader when there are others who have been there for a number of years. Being presumptuous when it comes to assuming a leadership mantle is considered bad form.
But even here, Turner is the rare exception to the rule. In his first few weeks in Fort Myers, his influence can already be felt.
"He's come in here and you can tell he's already comfortable,'' said Martin. "He is who he is. For someone like me, I tend to sit back (with a new team) and learn the surroundings. But Justin doesn't have to do that. He gets along with everybody right away. I think having Kiké and Kenley here makes the adjustment a little easier.''
"He knows how to reach people,'' said Jansen. "I can't wait to have him in the locker room again, because I know how great he's going to make me this year. We've both spent a lot of time in the big leagues and we've accomplished a lot of great stuff, but I like knowing that I'm always going to have that push from him.''
"He's already moving into that role here,'' said Hernandez. "We had many talks during the offseason -- before and after he signed -- because I wanted to make sure he never hesitated to be who he is. And obviously, AC and the coaches let him know that he wasn't just being brought in here for his bat. It was also what he can do for the team. He's already taken on that role and we're seeing him grow into, little by little.''