As Justin Turner Tweeted Saturday night, he and the Dodgers will be reunited after the third baseman-free agency after the 2020 season.
Jon Heyman of MLB Network later tweeted that Turner, now 36, and the Dodgers have reached a two-year deal. Ken Rosenthal van The Athletics added that the two-year deal amounts to $ 34 million, with a club option for a third year, and a $ 8 million bonus.
Justin Turner trades with Dodgers, per source: two years, $ 34 million, with club option for third season. Includes $ 8 million signing bonus.
– Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) 14 February 2021
Turner returns to the team he has been with since 2014, and where he won a World Series last season, although he could not be on the field for the last time due to a positive result of a COVID-19 test. Turner began his career with the Orioles in 2009, and after brief appearances for Baltimore in 2009 and 2010, the Mets were abandoned in May 2010 and claimed.
As a With more than four seasons, Long Beach, California, dipped 0.265 / .326 / .370 with eight home runs and 86 RBIs. He was not offered by the Mets after the 2013 season and signed for the 2014 season with his hometown Dodgers.
As a dodger through seven seasons, Turner hacked .302 / .382 / .503 with 116 home runs and a 139 OPS +. His best seasons were 2016 and 2019, when he hit 27 home runs in each of those seasons. In the NLDS against the Mets in 2015, Turner led the Dodgers with 10 hits in 19 batsmen, six of which were doubles.
During his free agency this season, there were speculations that the Mets might be interested in a reunion of Turner, as rumors abounded that the Mets wanted to upgrade the third base. Turner’s return to Flushing never seemed realistic, as he looks very comfortable playing in his native Southern California, and his departure from the Mets in 2013 was not friendly.
Turner said he was not offered because he worked with the former Met Marlon Byrd on a striking approach that was inconsistent with the Mets team approach. He openly said that he left on bad terms, and has a goal of playing well against the Mets to show them that they made a mistake. Since Sandy Alderson, GM when Turner was not offered, is back at the Mets, it was unlikely Turner would consider returning to New York.
Although Turner signed with Los Angeles late in the off-season, the Brewers were presented to him, which allegedly made him a multi-year offer. With Turner off the board, the Mets can focus their third base energy elsewhere (the Kris Bryant rumors are hot now, and the Mets have also contacted the Athletics Matt Chapman).
Acting GM Zack Scott said Friday that the Mets are comfortable entering the season with JD Davis playing a key role, although the role has never been defined. It seems likely that the Mets will try hard to land a new third baseman for 2021, and now it’s clear that third baseman will not be Justin Turner.
