As the offseason entered another week the Los Angeles Dodgers came to terms with Kenley Jansen on a five-year contract. That left Justin Turner on the open market, with the Dodgers of course still needing to fill a void at third base.
Prior to free agency commencing, Jansen and Turner rejected qualifying offers from the Dodgers. Both players are coming off career seasons, with Jansen earning a trip to the All-Star Game for the first time, and Turner’s accolades including being named a Gold Glove finalist.
Along with drawing interest from the Dodgers, the San Francisco Giants and St. Louis Cardinals were connected to Turner. However, the Giants’ reported interest was cursory, and the Cardinals would need to trade Jhonny Peralta to clear room for Turner.
The Giants’ and Cardinals’ respective signings of Mark Melancon and Dexter Fowler is also a factor. That’s left the Dodgers as the presumed favorite to re-sign Turner.
According to ESPN’s Buster Olney, the team is growing confident that will take place as a four-year contract is being discussed:
Justin Turner and the Dodgers have been talking about a four-year deal. As mentioned: LAD increasingly confident he will re-sign.
— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) December 12, 2016
A reported contract between Turner and the Dodgers may be a four-year deal that includes deferred salaries, per Joel Sherman of The New York Post:
Hear #Dodgers Turner were close at 4 yrs, $64M, but could be higher total with deferrals to keep current value down.
— Joel Sherman (@Joelsherman1) December 12, 2016
Turner underwent microfracture knee surgery last offseason, which delayed his partaking in Spring Training and correlated to a slow start to the season. Turner was hamstrung by some bad luck, and eventually rounded into the expected middle-of-the-order bat.
He finished the year hitting .275/.339/.493 with 34 doubles, 27 home runs, 90 RBI and a 124 OPS+ in 151 games. The 32-year-old set a Dodgers postseason record with a base hit in Game 5 of the National League Championship Series, which extended his streak to 15 consecutive postseason games reaching safely.
In 386 games with the Dodgers over the past three seasons, Turner hit .296/.364/.492 with 81 doubles, 50 home runs, 193 RBI and a 136 OPS+.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts recently expressed hope the club would re-sign Turner, citing not only his on-field production, but leadership in the clubhouse as well.
