After three remarkable seasons with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Justin Turner reached free agency for the second time in his career. However, it came in stark contrast to the first instance, when Turner was non-tendered by the New York Mets following the 2013 season.
He signed with the Dodgers on a Minor League contract that included an invitation to Spring Training. Turner made the Opening Day roster and largely filled a utility role in 2014. The following season he played his way into regular starts at third base, and this year was the unquestioned starting third baseman.
Turner, along with Rich Hill and Kenley Jansen, was identified as a priority by Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman.
Hill was first to be re-signed, then on Monday the Dodgers reportedly came to terms on a five-year deal with Jansen.
Now Turner also appears to be back in the fold, agreeing to a four-year deal, per Jon Heyman of Today’s Knuckleball:
Just small details to go, but dodgers and turner are in agreement on $64M and 4 yrs. @Ken_Rosenthal @Joelsherman1 on it
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) December 13, 2016
Beyond the Dodgers, Turner was said to have drawn interest from the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and St. Louis Cardinals. While Los Angeles was in favor of re-signing the 32-year-old, the club reportedly held talks with the Chicago White Sox for Todd Frazier.
In addition, the Dodgers were said to “aggressively” be monitoring multiple options in the event Turner wasn’t re-signed. After a slow start to the season, which presumably was a result of offseason microfracture knee surgery, Turner again helped anchor the middle of the Dodgers lineup.
He hit .275/.339/.493 with 34 doubles, 27 home runs, 90 RBI and a 124 OPS+ over 151 games. Turner batted .296/.364/.492 with 81 doubles, 50 home runs, 193 RBI and a 136 OPS+ in 386 games over the past three seasons with the Dodgers.
Beyond on-field production, Turner is valued for his leadership in the clubhouse, which manager Dave Roberts recently highlighted, and so too did former teammate A.J. Ellis.
