The Los Angeles Dodgers sent shockwaves at the MLB trade deadline last season when they acquired Max Scherzer and Trea Turner from the Washington Nationals in exchange for a package of prospects that included Josiah Gray and Keibert Ruiz.
Turner’s stint with the Dodgers was delayed as he was on the COVID-19 injured list after testing positive a few days before the trade. He wound up making his debut on Aug. 6, 2021, nearly one week after being acquired.
Turner hit a stellar .338/.385/.565 with 17 doubles, 10 home runs, 28 RBI and 11 stolen bases in 52 games en route to winning the National League batting title.
Turner also played through a broken finger that he sustained during his final month with the Nationals, via Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic:
Turner said he probably shouldn’t have played as much last summer, either. When the Dodgers visited Nationals Park last July, Turner didn’t play a single game in the series, nursing what was described as a “jammed finger” stemming from a slide. It wound up being another broken finger, this time a crack along one of the knuckles on his left hand.
While Turner played the second half of the 2021 season with a broken finger, it evidently didn’t affect his production at the plate. In addition to winning the NL batting title, he finished fifth in MVP voting.
Turner has continued to provide a spark at the top of the Dodgers lineup as he entered play Saturday batting .283/.352/.407 with 10 doubles, one triple, two home runs, 28 RBI and eight stolen bases in 165 plate appearances (38 games).
Turner playing through sore calf
With the Dodgers holding a comfortable lead in the ninth inning of the second game of their doubleheader against the Arizona Diamondbacks last week, Hanser Alberto was tasked with becoming their latest position player to pitch, in some part due to Turner’s minor calf injury.
“It’s one of those things with a three-man bench, you just don’t have many options in a game like that,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts explained. “Trea’s calf has been barking a little bit, so I wanted to get him out of the game, so then you’re down to two guys that play every day.
“So just trying to figure out how in this stretch you can save an arm. Had David (Price) up early because he hadn’t pitched in quite some time, but felt there’s still an opportunity to have him [Wednesday].
“I talked to Hanser on the bench and he said, ‘Hey, I can pitch.’ So at that point in time I just felt with a good lead, to potentially save an arm. He was very excited.”
Roberts downplayed the severity of Turner’s calf injury, noting he has been moving well and is “definitely playable.” Turner and Freddie Freeman are the only Dodgers to start every game this season.
Are you following Dodger Blue on Instagram? It’s the best way to see exclusive coverage from games and events, get your questions answered, and more!
