MLB Rumors: Mike Trout regret, Mets in on Japanese phenom, Red Sox bummer

MLB Rumors: Red Sox bummer on Justin Turner

Even the Red Sox couldn't have imagined the season 38-year-old Justin Turner would turn in when they signed him as a free agent this offseason.

The designated hitter has 20 home runs and 82 RBI, which is just seven home runs and eight RBI shy of a career-highs with a month remaining in the season. He's slashing .285/.355/.479 with an OPS+ of 123, which is second-best among Red Sox batters.

So naturally, the Red Sox will want to keep him around, right? Not so fast, says Sean McAdam of MassLive.com.

The issue is that Turner has a player option he looks likely to decline in hopes of picking up a nice payout on the open market. The Red Sox could up the money to try to keep him but there's another argument to let him go to open up the DH spot to more flexibility.

"If they again lock Turner into the DH slot full-time, that means the Sox can’t utilize either Rafael Devers or Masataka Yoshida there and consigns them to playing two below-average defenders on a pretty much everyday basis," McAdam wrote.

Turner isn't a viable position player at this stage in his career and the Red Sox desperately need help on the defensive end. Devers and Yoshida are there to stay, so the desire to add flexibility could ultimately push Turner out the door.