3 Former Red Sox that Boston Will Regret Letting Walk in 2024

The MLB offseason is zooming by as we're officially less than a week away from Spring Training. The Boston Red Sox face higher-than-usual expectations in 2024 after missing the playoffs for the fourth time in five seasons last year, marking the second time in 13 years that has occurred.

This year's Red Sox will look a little bit different after undergoing some changes in the offseason. On top of chief baseball officer Craig Breslow's hiring and Theo Epstein's return to the franchise, Boston saw some familiar faces leave in free agents. Although some of those players won't be missed, others likely shouldn't have been let go.

With that in mind, here are three former Red Sox that Boston will regret letting walk this offseason.

1. DH/1B Justin Turner

The Red Sox left fans wanting more throughout the 2023 campaign, but it rarely had to do with a lack of offense. After all, Boston averaged the fourth-most hits and 11th-most runs last season, and a lot of that success had to do with Justin Turner.

The former NLCS MVP had one of the best seasons of his career with the Red Sox. Turner crushed 23 home runs while tallying a career-high 96 RBIs while slashing .276/.345/.455 across 146 games with Boston, spending most of his time as the designated hitter and at first base. Although he didn't earn any individual accolades, he still proved that he had a lot of juice left in the tank as he nears age 40.

But rather than re-sign Turner, the Red Sox allowed him to test free agency. The decision has proven to be a mistake given that the Long Beach, CA native has since signed with the AL East rival Toronto Blue Jays on a one-year, $13 million contract. Given last year's production, that's a number Boston should've attempted to match.

We're now nearly in March and the Red Sox have yet to sign a suitable Turner replacement. If they open the 2024 campaign without one, it'll only be clearer that they messed up by letting Turner walk.