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Dodgers To Sign Justin Turner
6:15pm: Turner will earn $1MM if he makes the MLB roster, tweets Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com.
2:47pm: The Dodgers have agreed to sign infielder Justin Turner, reports MLBTR's Tim Dierkes (via Twitter). Turner, 29, is a Legacy client. He gets a minor league deal with a Spring Training invite, tweets Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times.
Most of Turner's big league time has been spent with the Mets, who non-tendered him this year. Since receiving 487 plate appearances and slashing .260/.334/.356 in 2011, Turner has seen less regular action. In 214 plate appearances last year, he put up a .280/.319/.385 triple-slash -- good for a precisely league-average 100 OPS+.
Turner's versatility gives him a chance to crack the MLB roster as a utility infielder. Alternatively, Turner could battle for more regular time at second if Alexander Guerrero stumbles. The right-handed swinging Turner will presumably compete with lefty Dee Gordon, veteran switch-hitter Chone Figgins, and a pair of fellow righties in Justin Sellers and Brendan Harris. Though defensive metrics have not liked Turner's work at second, he grades out as roughly average on the left side of the infield, where he has spent most of his time over the last two seasons.
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