Justin Turner was not among the group of Los Angeles Dodgers free agents when the offseason began, but he has now joined them after having his $16 million team option for 2023 declined.
Ahead of Thursday’s deadline, the Dodgers declined options on Hanser Alberto, Danny Duffy and Jimmy Nelson. Each became a free agent, with Alberto receiving a $250,000 buyout. Turner earned a $2 million buyout.
When recently asked about his future, Turner said he had not received any indication from the Dodgers on which way they may be leaning. Since then and prior to finalizing their decision on the team option, the Dodgers and Turner’s representatives at Vayner Sports were in discussions about multiple contract scenarios.
Turner hit .278/.350/.438 with a 123 wRC+ this past season despite a slow start and remains one of the better all-around third basemen in baseball. Turner has spent the past nine years with the Dodgers and hopes to finish his career with them.
Turner is the all-time Dodgers franchise postseason leader in games played (86), hits (85), home runs (13), doubles (19), runs scored (43), RBI (42), total bases (145), walks (38) and hit by pitches (13). He additionally is the all-time Dodgers leader in hit by pitches during the regular season.
Off the field, Turner became the third Dodgers player to win the Roberto Clemente Award. It’s presented annually to the player who best represents the game of baseball through extraordinary character, community involvement, philanthropy and positive contributions, both on and off the field.
Will Dodgers re-sign Justin Turner?
This marks a third time Turner is a free agent since signing a Minor League contract with the Dodgers in 2014.
He reached the open market after the 2016 season, and re-signed on a four-year contract. Turner again became a free agent in 2020 and returned to the team on a two-year deal that included an option for 2023.
Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman has raved about Turner’s importance to the team and community each time he’s become a free agent.
“He’s been a huge part of our success, he’s been right in the thick of everything for as long as I’ve been here,” Friedman said last month during his end-of-season press conference.
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