Turner acknowledged for stellar season with ovation in Fenway finale

BOSTON -- The late-season curtain call is usually reserved for a veteran who has been with the same team for years.

However, Red Sox manager Alex Cora took a different approach on Wednesday night at Fenway Park, orchestrating a moment for Justin Turner to have with the fans in the team’s home finale.

With two outs in the top of the sixth inning of an eventual 5-0 loss to the Rays, Cora came out to the mound and many people assumed it was to take starting pitcher Brayan Bello out of the game.

Instead, with the infielders gathered on the mound, Cora motioned to first baseman Turner to go back to the dugout. Realizing what was happening, Turner shook hands with his manager. Then, the two men embraced as Turner walked off to an appreciative hand from the fans.

Turner has four games left in his first season with Boston. The right-handed hitter has a player option for next season, but there’s a good chance he will test the market.

“We don’t know what the future holds, but I feel like this guy throughout the season, he was the leader not only on the field, but off the field, what he did in the community,” Cora said. “[Turner] and his wife Kourtney, from day one, they embraced this town. For him to get an ovation from the people here, from my end, I thought it was something cool for him, and let’s see what the future holds. I’m not saying he won’t be back, but it felt right.”

In his age-38 season, Turner has been the consummate professional for the Red Sox, slashing .274/.344/.455 with 23 homers and 96 RBIs.

Turner was on pace to have a better year than that, but he has been hobbled for the final two months of the season by a bruised right heel suffered when he landed too hard on the bag legging out an infield hit on July 31 in Seattle.

Instead of asking for time off once the Red Sox fell out of contention, Turner has continued to post. He knows no other way.

“That’s what I signed up for,” Turner said. “I signed up to play 162-plus, and just because we're out of postseason contention doesn't mean I'm gonna shut it down. I’m going to continue to go out there and be with these guys and work with them and continue to try to help everyone get better.”

Turner will have decisions to make this winter, as will the Red Sox. But he made it clear that a return in Boston would be appealing.

“Yeah, I mean, I've enjoyed every minute of it,” Turner said. “Since day one, it's been first class from all the way from the top, all the way down, and I’ve enjoyed the guys in this room, and there's a lot of really good baseball players in this room. And so I would definitely be happy if I was back here again.”

It’s particularly hard to gauge what the Red Sox will do at a time they are searching for their next leader of baseball operations.

Not knowing what the future holds, Turner chose Wednesday as a chance to thank the fans who have supported him all season.

“It’s fantastic,” Turner said of playing in Boston. “Look at tonight, it’s the last [home] game of the season. We are out of playoff contention, but the house is packed. Everyone's into the game and it's just been an absolute pleasure to play in front of these fans every single night. So I want to say thank you to all the fans for being so brave for showing up and sorry we fell short.”