As Justin Turner wrote on Twitter on Saturday night, he and the Dodgers will reunite after the third base agent tested the free agency after the 2020 season.
Jon Heyman from MLB Network later posted on Twitter that Turner, now 36, and the Dodgers agreed on a two-year deal. Ken Rosenthal din athletic He added that the deal is for $ 34 million over two years, with a club option for the third year and a $ 8 million signing bonus.
Justin Turner deals with the Dodgers, according to the source: two years, 34 million USD, with the club option for the third season. Includes $ 8 million signing bonus.
– Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) February 14, 2021
Turner returns to the team he has been with since 2014 and where he won a World Series last season, although he could not be on the field for the last outing due to a positive result of a COVID-19 test. Turner began his career with the Orioles in 2009 and, after brief appearances for Baltimore in 2009 and 2010, was dropped and claimed by the Mets in May 2010.
As a four-season Met, the Long Beach, CA native dropped .265 / .326 / .370 with eight home runs and 86 RBIs. He was not auctioned by the Mets after the 2013 season and signed with the Dodgers in his hometown for the 2014 season.
As a Dodger over seven seasons, Turner reduced .302 / .382 / .503 with 116 home runs and 139 OPS +. His best seasons were 2016 and 2019, when he hit 27 home runs in each of these seasons. In the 2015 NLDS against the Mets, Turner led the Dodgers with 10 hits in 19 bats, six of which were doubles.
During his free agency this season, there was speculation that the Mets might be interested in a Turner reunion, as rumors abounded that the Mets are looking to upgrade their third base. Turner’s return to Flushing never seemed realistic, as he seems very comfortable playing in Southern California, and his departure from the Mets in 2013 was not amicable.
Turner said he was not auctioned because he worked with the former Met Marlon Byrd on an impact approach that was not consistent with the Mets team’s approach. He openly stated that he left in bad conditions and has a goal to play well against the Mets to make them see that they were wrong. Since Sandy Alderson, GM when Turner was not auctioned off, returned with the Mets, Turner was unlikely to consider returning to New York.
Although Turner signed with Los Angeles at the end of the season, he was courted by the Brewers, who would have made him an offer for several years. With Turner off the board, the Mets can focus their third base energy elsewhere ( Kris Bryant the rumors are hot right now, and the Mets have also contacted Athletics Matt Chapman).
Zack Scott, acting GM, said Friday that the Mets feel comfortable as they enter the season, with JD Davis playing an important role, although that role has never been defined. It seems that the Mets will try hard to get a new third base for 2021 and now it is clear that the third base will not be Justin Turner.
