Trea Turner and the Dodgers avoided an arbitration hearing by agreeing to a one-year, $21MM salary for the 2022 season, but those were seemingly the only contract talks between the two sides this winter. Turner told The Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya and other reporters that the team told him that no extension offer would be coming prior to the start of the season. Earlier this offseason prior to the lockout, Turner said that the Dodgers had engaged in some light but nonspecific negotiations about a possible long-term deal, without any offers or numbers exchanged.
Turner didn’t sound upset about the lack of talks, saying “the money will take care of itself. It’s why you have agents and whatnot….I just asked them to be honest with me. They were honest with me, a few days ago, a week ago, whatever it was. It’s time to play, and time to try to win a World Series.”
It doesn’t seem likely that any negotiating will take place during the season, with Turner now focused on baseball and simply because it’s rare for such major impending free agents to agree to extensions as they get closer and closer to the open market. Assuming he delivers his usual numbers in 2022, the shortstop projects as arguably the top free agent of the 2022-23 class.
Despite the lack of talks to date with the Dodgers, a return to Los Angeles can’t be ruled out. For one, the free-spending Dodgers are one of the teams best suited to pay the mega-contract that Turner will demand on the open market. L.A. has also been willing to let major names (such as Justin Turner, Kenley Jansen, and Clayton Kershaw) all test in the market in the past before eventually re-signing them.
The Dodgers have quite a bit of money coming off the books next winter, though a lot of that space could be taken up by extensions, options being exercised, and escalating arbitration costs. Furthermore, with the Dodgers approaching the top $290MM penalty threshold of the luxury tax, it’s possible the front office could slightly dial things back by “only” spending at the next tier down.
If Turner did leave, the Dodgers might look to replace him with Gavin Lux, should Lux establish himself as a quality big leaguer this season. Utilityman Chris Taylor is another in-house option, but since this is the Dodgers we’re talking about, the club could explore bringing in another star name via trade (like how Turner himself was acquired essentially as Corey Seager’s replacement) or via free agency — Carlos Correa and Xander Bogaerts are two of the shortstops expected to opt out of their contracts after the season.
Not a fan of the Dodgers but respect how they do business. Sucks they are still hating on my Stros but I understand it. I’d let Turner walk, but when you have all the money in the world and willing to spend it they could do anything
Why on Earth would you let Turner walk?
Same reason they let Seager go. They don’t want to overpay on a long-term deal. Already have a big contract to Mookie Betts. Probably more willing to go shorter term deal but these guys want long term deal. They’re hoping Lux puts up numbers but I don’t see it, and have doubts he can field SS position at MLB level.
That last sentence is exactly why I don’t think they’ll just let Trea walk without a fight, mlbdodger.
That and the prospect haul they gave up for him and Scherzer.
You wouldn’t be overpaying a guy like T. Turner. Very consistent guy that has great speed and can swing a good bat, while also playing solid D
Speed guys don’t tend to age well. See Carl Crawford.
He isn’t specifically a speed guy. He can swing it and play good defense as well
His legs is his best attribute. He’s a speed guy.
Maybe. But I think Trea Turner is plan C. I think a very good chance that the Dodgers SS in 2023 is not on the roster right now. Whether they sign a free agent or trade for a SS.
$30-35 mm for Trea Turner is an overpay. Heck you can argue that Mookie Betts hasn’t lived up to his $365mm contract right now. A very good player but if he puts up same numbers over the next 2-3 seasons that is a bad contract.
PutPeteRoseInTheHall2 hours ago
You wouldn’t be overpaying a guy like T. Turner.
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A year ago, the LAD CF had a career OPS+ of 140 and played a decent CF.
Lux absolutely can play SS. It is his best position. He has shown he can handle it in the limited games he’s played there. The issue is can he hit consistently. Either way, this is Turner’s last season in Dodger blue (unless is settle for a shorter term w higher AA in my opinion). If Lux can hit at all (.250+), I could see him being the everyday SS in the future, especially with Miguel Vargas (DH/3B) waiting in the wings to help offset Trea’s offensive production.
Use that money saved on Turner for pitching.
To me Lux looks a step slow and doesn’t show a big arm. He’d be a below average MLB SS and if he can’t hit I can’t see the Dodgers putting him out there in 2023. He’d have to move to 2B. I agree that it will come down to hitting. You can forgive some glove if the bat is there. See Seager. Either way we’ll find out if Lux is a bust or not this season.
Id like to see Lux get a full month in CF soon, I think he has the chops for it with positioning nowadays and Mookie on his side and it would serve the team the best in the long term
Pseudo Dl for Bellinger or ………
I wonder what NYY would think about a Belli for Chapman trade straight up….. seems they have the pen to cover AC. I have no stomach to extend Cody Bellinger today on yesteryears MVP… I bet they at least inquired possible interest in Cody a month ago around the league
So T. Turner wins TWO NL batting titles but he is just a speed guy. Babe Ruth was a pitcher who could hit a little? Ted Williams was a fighter pilot who played some baseball? Good Lord!
Why, when Turner is right there? Plan C, really?
Adding Betts got them a World Series. Money well.spent.
You also do realize that the Dodgers will be over luxury tax two seasons in a row this season. This is their last season to go for it. In 2023, they’re going to look to reset. You’re not going to be able to reset paying Turner $30mm. As long as Lux doesn’t go Bellinger 2021 this season I can see them using Lux to cost cut. If not, they’ll go with a veteran cheaper option than Turner.
2020 version of Betts was very good but on a small sample size. 2021 version was well below par for an elite player and he needs to step up his game. He gets paid way too much to put up 2021 numbers. Now, he had some hip issues but it seemed like he just couldn’t put it all together. Chasing out of the zone too much. Nothing to do with the hip. Too bad it’s a 12 year deal though. So, jury still out if it was money well spent. The Dodgers also had a ton of talent in 2020 so can’t just say that it was Mookie that brought the WS title. Lots of contributions, which is what made that team so special.
The Dodgers will indeed look to rest the CBT next year tho there is still room for a Turner 30 AAV if they want it-
Only 4 players contractually obligated next year Taylor Betts Bauer Freeman
Bellinger will have to be cut (Im coo w that)
They can’t spend much on the pen (cool w that as well; love the internals)
And we will once again have to piece meal the back end of the staff on 1 yr deals (very cool w that)
But they can duck it and still afford Tre , the question will be would they want to knowing Urias and Buehler loom ? Flags don’t fly forever but I bet Freidman wants to fly them as long as he can….tough choices …..giving us another year to project our internal Ss options (on the club and farm) has to play into this heavily as well Id think
Literally the exact oppsite of what you said is true. It’s been well known for a very long time that fast players age better than slow ones (guys with “old player skills.”) don’t just make things up based off a a single example, please
Can’t keep saying that about 2020… it was a real season that counted, and Betts had a great year that helped the team win a WS… last year was a down year for him, let’s see what he does from here
Speed doesn’t get you highest position player war numbers.
Cap n Crunch, I agree. Even in his MVP season, he had 2 historically good months (April and May), and the rest of the year was just “ok”. Those 2 months carried him to the award. Takeaway those 2 months from his entire career and he is a .230 hitter. Great power though. Gold glove defense with great power is nice to have, but not if he is going to want MVP type money moving forward.
@fox471 i cannot understand where some of these takes come from lol speed guy jesus
turner is criminally underrated.
Trea Turner is one of the steadiest performers in all of MLB. Does everything well, and a few things very well. I’d take him on my Phillies six days a week and twice on Sundays. JMHO, but don’t see LA letting him go at season’s end, much less trading him at the trade deadline while trying to win a pennant.
As an aside, I think it’ll be the Phillies and Dodgers in the NLCS this year. Both teams have big bats and big arms. If it happens, it’ll be a classic for the ages.
Agreed. Maybe the numbers “can” work with Turner at $30mm AAV but do they want to go there and lose flexibility? Doesn’t sound like a Friedman thing to do. Signing Freeman didn’t help that cause.
I’m just stating the facts on Betts. He doesn’t look like the MVP guy in Boston but I’ll take the 2020 LAD version. That was on a small sample whether you’d like to admit it or not. To me he’s been too inconsistent at the plate. He’s always going to give you great defense, base running, etc. but the bat needs to be more consistent.
@Fred
Turner led the league in batting average, he’s more than just a speed guy
Cap n Crunch – I wouldn’t trade Chapman for Belli. Both are free agents at the end of the season. Chapman also has a limited NTC but can be traded to Dodgers or Angels.
The problem is one every team wishes they had. They have so much talent that there is no feasible way to keep them all. Teams can only sign so many 10 year $300 million types of players. Those long contracts are the issue for well run organizations like the Dodgers. A couple of those can be worked around, but if you hand out 4 or more, you’re stuck at around $120 quarantined payroll. The team’s financial flexibility is toast. I think they want to pick and choose who they keep long term.
One reason. They are going after Ohtani or Soto. Ohtani when he reaches free agency. Soto will be able to be trade for eventually.
Turner gets no respect. Nats trade him with a year of control and no replacement in their system. Now Dodgers seem intent on letting him go FA.
Yes I am also a fan of how they do business. Spend a ton of money. Whiz thru the regular season and never win a legit title. Throw in the fact they blow up the pitching staff once they start the playoffs into something they don’t do during the regular season and yes they are the epitome of a respectful franchise.
Dumb take, Yep.
I’m gonna agree with letting Turner go. Lux was drafted for that spot. The money needs to go to SP. Kershaw will be gone soon. Signing Urias and Walker will be an challenge by itself. Miller will be ready in a year or two, but they need to add a high end starter. Eventually the Luxury tax is too much. As a dodger fan I love the free spending, but it must curb itself sometime. I do like Trea a lot though.
I doubt they’d let him walk. Reality is how many teams do they truly have to compete with for his services? Yankees, Angels. Others have either spent or don’t have the need, and those that do probably don’t have the budget to afford him.
I don’t know why the Giants wouldn’t be involved as well but I do think Yanks and Angels would be involved amongst many other teams. Trea would attract many suitors I’d imagine
Giants have Brandon Crawford through 2023 and their top prospect Luciano (a SS) hopefully will be ready when that contract ends.
The Giants could always move Turner to 2B or possibly CF if they signed him. I’d say the idea of snagging an elite player from their biggest rival would be very enticing
I would’ve but historically they haven’t dished out the contracts that someone like Turner would command. Not saying they wouldn’t – they very well can, but the two big ones I mentioned would be my guess.
Yankees will not be involved. They should be, but it is abundantly clear they will not spend any more & certainly not at SS.
I’m sure we’ll see the Cubs rumored to be interested, but like almost always they are willing to be used by the agents so their fanbase thinks they’re trying to win. And by “win” I don’t mean to be a fringe contender. I mean going all out to win it all.
He is another player who is hitting free agency in his prime. He’ll be 29 next year to start the season so you have to think he has another 4-5 years of dominant play left in him. As with most other players, the biggest concern is the back half of a long term contract. If he’s looking for 10 years and $300M+, teams are right to be hesitant to sign such an agreement as it would go through his age 39 season and there’s no way he’ll perform at a $30M/yr level in his last 3-4 seasons of a 10 year deal.
I wish the owners had protected themselves for such contracts in this last CBA. There should be no way that 10 year deals are fully guaranteed in MLB. Set a limit of 5-6 years and after this, teams have the ability to opt out of the remaining years at 25% of the remaining term. It so one sided right now. Not only are player contracts fully guaranteed, some players are allowed to negotiate a one-way opt out clause where they can leave to make more money if they are playing well, but the teams are stuck paying the full amount of the deal if the player’s skills diminish (see Chris Davis in Baltimore). Owners should get their own opt-out clause too for any deals that go beyond 5 or 6 years. Make them pay a penalty for doing so (I suggested a 25% buyout fee that would go to the player), but there needs to be a way for teams to cut their losses if a player fails while under a 7+ year contract. This way, you could pay Trea Turner $30M+ but not have to pay him for the full 10 year term if he’s not performing.
Dorothy, the easiest way to get out of a long-term deal is not to sign any player to one. Even a guy like Turner, who I have the greatest respect for; he’s a “bawlplaya”. But if he wants to get paid when he’s 36 and on, I say “Thank You for what you’ve done” and move on.
As Danny O’Dowd says, (and this doesn’t really apply to the Dodgers, but you get the drift): “A large market team with a mismanaged payroll becomes a small market team”. Let the players scream collusion; it’s a nebulous legal term that’s almost impossible to prove.
The owners can protect themselves from such contracts all the time. They just set a limit and don’t exceed it, problem solved. No reason to not have fully guaranteed 10 year deals, it takes both parties to sign off, after all. If they are worried about diminished returns just front load the contract accordingly. If they are worried about one way opt outs then don’t include them in the contract and adjust the money likewise to compensate. They are businessmen after all and didn’t get where they are through blind luck the whole way. I’m not crying for the owners having to pay what they signed up for…
The large market teams that agree to most of these deals respectfully shouldn’t get bailed out. Even for the mid-size market clubs, they have to weigh risk vs reward. No matter how good a position player is, 30+ AAV for an extended period is a bit nuts. Every player wants theirs, so to allocate so much to 1 guy is tough in a sport where pitching is king…..good luck outside of LAD/NYY/RSox/Cubs/now Mets who have the ability to outspend mistakes to make the postseason more often than not.
100%
NBA has 5 yr max’s , it works wonderful and is very fan friendly
You’ll also see quite a bit more action via trade with these capped contracts as well as it’s easier to shift in and out of windows
Disagree: players should be allowed to negotiate for the best contract they can get. It’s on front offices to mitigate their risk. Absolutely EVERYONE thought that Chris Davis contract was a terrible idea at the time. Why should the players agree to protect the owners from their own dumb mistakes?
Yeah he’s considered to be in his prime by the old standards. But I think we are starting to see that most of these guys are better up to 29 then they are after. Only way I’d give a long-term deal to anyone would be if they were under 27.
So Dodgers should have traded for Olson and not signed Freeman?
Most fans have the misconception that players prone past into their 30s but really most players, even great ones, start a noticeable decline beginning at age 31.
This is the best all around shortstop in the game. The Nationals will regret this forever. Whoever signs him gets a gem.
What do the Nationals have to regret with Turner? They’d be losing this season with or without Turner. Maxing out the prospect return at last year’s deadline was a smart play.
And not that they’ll do it, but the Nats will have the same chance as any other team to sign Turner as a FA this offseason.
What do the Dodgers have against Turner? Given that they gave up top talent, you would think that they would want to hold on to him. It’s just nuts!
First, I’m not even sure if Turner is a west coast kind of guy. I’m sure he’d rather be elsewhere but of course wants big $ and Dodgers can pay that. But the Dodgers, contrary to reputation, don’t just give out long-term money. They passed on Seager and I think they’ll pass on Turner. There are only so many big money deals you can give out. Of course most teams want a player like Turner but at what cost? Because cost matters as much as talent. What the Dodgers really need right now to sustain post season runs is younger cheaper talent. Bellinger has evaporated. Lux is looking like he’s not elite. Can’t keep throwing $16 million here, $30 million there. Who is the next position player stud? Bobby Miller may be a good start at SP. But would be nice if they have a couple more youngsters.
That’s the cost of doing business. They gave up Gray and Ruiz but got Scherzer as a rental and 1.5 years of Turner. That was not a rental. I don’t think they were thinking that they had to resign Turner for the deal to be worth it. I think if anything they never intended to resign Turner unless something changed. Maybe Turner was leverage for Seager but that didn’t happen. I think they were fine rolling with Seager in 2021, Turner in 2022 and someone else in 2023, including potential for Lux.
Unless the dodgers didn’t value it as everyone else did. I’m sure there are teams that see a top 100 prospect on the various rankings and say to themselves that’s interesting, we didn’t see it that way. But if you happen to have him on your team and don’t necessarily agree with that ranking it makes sense to sell high. A prospect is still just that after all and at the end of the day the mlb team is the moneymaker, so sell high on prospects to better the mlb club right now
Why is it now news when a player under team control isn’t offered another contract?
You do realize that this is a website exclusively devoted to rumors and chatter about players’ roster status on teams, don’t you?
Meh. They will just buy a couple of guys at the trade deadline from teams that don’t want to pay them. The Dodgers are never going to run out of options as long as they are allowed to spend 10 times the amount of other teams. But hey they use the DH now, so that makes everything equal.
So far this season not impressed with his at bats. He appears to be kinda ho hum with his at bats. Want to see more livelinesses from him. Want to see that he cares. Of course these are my perceptions of him, and not accurate.
Id go with the field over LAD for Turner next year as well
Big Ss market again next year in a less impactful free agency otherwise ..oddly C is a little deep as well along with RP’s but Mild 2023 free agency overall outside the Ss crew
Correa Turner Bogaerts and Dansby
Turner has the greatest chance at 300, the chairs, tho people don’t believe it yet, ARE running out on these contracts.
I can see the wisdom in wanting to play the game rather than paying full dollar to Turner early from Lad’s side here. When they take themselves outta the equation there’s probably not 5 more teams willing to spend 200+ on a single contract next season
*The Seager Bogs Lindor Correa debate always circled the fantasy baseball wagons when they came up all together
. I’ll still take Bogs (an unpopular opinion) and I think he might get payed the least outta this 4 careers end ironically
Could def see Rizzo and the Lerners go hard at TT this winter. Tons of cash off the books after this season at a position we have a massive hole at. I think something around $240 for 8 years would get them close.
Would be a super slick move, especially on days Josiah pitches and Ruiz catches!
Ruiz looks Legit AF , great get
Zero chance the Lerners sign any big free agent tge Strasburg and Corbin contracts have killed that team. They won’t sign TT on a second chance, AND they will not sign Soto. They are great at finding, developing and then losing great talent. Bryce Harper, Anthony Rendon, Trea Turner, and now Soto but they only spend on starting pitching and then with a lot of deferred money.
In Friedman we trust. Arguably the best in the game.
If this were another team, the lack of extension discussions might be a story. But it isn’t really because the Dodgers very rarely do extensions. That doesn’t mean the player isn’t coming back, but for some reason they feel more comfortable bidding for their services on the open player market than locking them up before they test free agency. No idea why, and I bet nobody else has any useful theories.
Your comments are my least favorite on this site
Ha. Almost like you said something, but not.
I’d say there’s a very good chance the Dodgers let Turner walk. They’ll probably make more of an effort to keep him than we saw with Seager, but they’ll still be somewhat restrained. Buehler and Urias are in line for big contracts soon and several others are already on the books. Plus the Dodgers have Taylor and Lux to play SS should Turner leave
Neither Taylor or Lux are anywhere close to being a top 15 SS. At this point they are excellent for covering an injury at SS not near elite level.
Gj2, That’s a fair point, but do they NEED a top 15 SS? As far as pitchers getting the better $$, I think it is because a quality pitcher can have a bigger impact on a single game, especially come playoff time. For example, would you rather pay a player 20 million + to throw 7 innings of 2 runs or less, or a pay a position player to go 2-3 with a walk and HR.
How many top pitchers don’t miss whole seasons during their careers? Losing a number 1 starter pretty much kills your year. If you don’t need top 15 players then go the Tampa Bay route. Signing Freeman should have traded for Olson. I do believe any contract in excess of 5 years should have protection for the team built in. The Mookie and Tatis contracts will not age well, and TT should be limited to 5 or 6 years. But the Dodgers would be fools not to negotiate later in the season
I never quite get that, pitchers have much greater risk of having long term injuries than position players. But seem to get the biggest guarantees through mid to late 30’s
Im one of those Braves fans that has not been hypnotized by Dansby Swanson’s hair. I kid his fans but I would absolutely love to see the Braves let Swanson go and upgrade with Turner. Not holding my breath though. Besides, if Swanson signs a contract around 5 years and in the neighborhood of $60 million, it would be hard to argue with that. That also seems much more Braves like than what it would take to land Trea Turner.
Bogaerts away from Fenway is a bit pedestrian, and he’s not noted for his fielding, so a move off SS is likely as he enters his 39s. Road: .269/.334/.422. Nearly 150 pt. OPS+ decrease when he leaves Fenway. What’s someone going to pay for that?
30s.
It is reasonable before negotiating a major extension that the team has a handle on their payroll in 23. The Dodgers current starting rotation has some issues and may need help down the road. Those issues include unknown payroll going forward for Bauer or salary for another starter obtained by trade. They and TT can wait until after the trade deadline to firm up an offer and still retain exclusive negotiating rights until the end of the season. As far as being a speed guy he is 1.4 fps quicker than Tatis and Acuna before their injuries, he can lose a step or two and still be elite for the next 5 years. Second he is a 5 tool player who is a lifetime 300 hitter and has gotten better every year. One significant injury in his career when hit by pitch on throwing hand. It makes sense to use the time they have before the trade deadline to get this right.
Dodgers farm system is stacked and they have the pieces to replace him through trade as well.
I think they bring Turner back because his age should limit the years of his next deal