Mariners infielder Justin Turner’s 40th birthday is just around the corner this November, but that’s not stopping the veteran from planning to keep going next year. The pending free agent told reporters, including MLB.com’s Daniel Kramer, after Seattle’s win over the A’s last night that he wants to continue his playing career in 2025:
“100 percent. I still feel good, still feel like I have a lot to contribute.” Turner said, as relayed by Kramer. “And I absolutely love spending time around these guys and the conversations and questions and helping guys.”
Even as he enters his 40s, it’s not necessarily a shock that Turner would plan to continue playing. After all, the veteran remains quite productive on the field. In 138 games split between Toronto and Seattle this year, the veteran has slashed .258/.353/.380 with a wRC+ of 115. While Turner’s 11 home runs and .122 isolated slugging percentage are both the lowest he’s posted in a full season since becoming a regular with the Dodgers back in 2015, his overall production remains exactly in line with what he produced for the Red Sox last year and not far off from the 123 wRC+ he posted in his final year as a Dodger.
Turner has largely been restricted to first base an DH since departing Los Angeles, with just six total appearances at the hot corner this year after logging 17 appearances between second and third base with the Red Sox last year. That dwindling versatility will surely restrict his market this winter, but there should still be plenty of suitors for Turner even in a strictly 1B/DH role. After all, just nine teams got a 115 wRC+ or higher out of first base this year, while 11 clubs matched or exceeded that figure at DH. Only the Blue Jays, Dodgers, Braves, Phillies, and Diamondbacks got better numbers than Turner provided out of both positions this year, and Arizona figures to lose both Christian Walker and Joc Pederson to free agency this winter.
Of course, it’s unlikely that Turner would really garner interest from every club he would be an on-paper upgrade for, but it’s still easy to imagine him as a fit for a number of teams. The Astros could benefit from a right-handed complement to Jon Singleton at first base and someone capable of plugging in at DH on days where Yordan Alvarez plays the outfield, for one example. Meanwhile, the Royals, Nationals, Tigers, and Pirates are all young up-and-coming teams who not only got below average production from either first base or DH this year but could also benefit from adding a well-respected veteran like Turner as a mentor figure for young hitters.
Turner has also signed one-year deals in each of the past two offseasons, which could make him a particularly attractive candidate for a team like the Tigers that has a possible regular in Spencer Torkelson but may not want to rely on the 25-year-old finally taking a long-anticipated step forward after making the playoffs for the first time since 2014 this year. That flexibility could also benefit a team like the Yankees that has a potential heir to first base in Ben Rice at Triple-A but is unlikely to fully commit to a youngster with just 49 big league games under his belt.
A return to Seattle also can’t be ruled out. As Kramer noted last night, president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto indicated to reporters yesterday that the club’s payroll is likely to increase this winter. While Dipoto cautioned that much of that increase figures to be accounted for with the increasing arbitration costs of a large class of key players like Randy Arozarena, George Kirby, Logan Gilbert, and Cal Raleigh, it’s not hard to imagine the club being able to fit a one-year deal for Turner into their budget if they decide they’d prefer to use him in the first base/DH mix alongside Luke Raley rather than rely on youngster Tyler Locklear.
