Steve Webb
LOS ANGELES, CA — In a move that was basically inevitable after the signing of free agent JD Martinez, the Dodgers have bid adieu to one of the key elements of the last decade of success: Justin Turner has inked a free agent deal of his own with Martinez’s former employer, the Boston Red Sox.
Increasingly, Fenway Park is becoming the Island of Misfit Dodgers. JT joins other former teammates Alex Verdugo, Kiké Hernández, Chris Martin, and Kenley Jansen on a BoSox roster that is looking to improve on its last place finish in the American League East in 2022. Turner’s contract, said to be in the neighborhood of $22 million for two years, will keep JT in the big leagues until the cusp of his 40th birthday. That is a good long career for a guy who was non-tenured a decade ago with the Mets.
Turner is a career .270/.370/.460 hitter with 13 home runs in 86 postseason games, but he meant much more to the Dodgers than his stat line would indicate. On a team sometimes known for its bloodless, business-like approach to the game, Justin Turner was a passionate, gritty player who essentially willed himself into excellence with a retooled swing.
He hooked on with the Dodgers on a minor league deal in 2014, he almost immediately made on an impact on the team, hitting .340 in his first year over 322 plate appearances. But it seemed that he kept his best moments in his pocket for the postseason. His walk-off home run against the Cubs in the 2017 NLCS is one of a handful of iconic Dodger moments that Turner has had in October, and much of his reputation with the club was based on these clutch hits.
However, as they say, Father Time is undefeated. And though he ended up having a great summer in 2022, Turner was quiet in the playoff loss to the Padres, hitting just .154 over the four-game series. This coming after a .118 performance in the 2021 playoffs. And, in recent years, there has been a definite drop-off in Turner’s ability to handle the high velocity pitches that we’re seeing more and more of in the game in the last 5-10 years. It will be interesting to see how Turner fares in the pitching-rich AL East, where there are precious few easy matchups for an aging hitter.
I’m guessing that the sticking point for the Dodgers in the whole thing was the length of JT’s new deal. The money per year is pretty much the same as they paid Martinez ($10 million for Martinez vs. $11 for Turner). However, committing to that extra year might have been a bridge too far for the Dodger front office, as this season looks more and more like a transitional year both at DH and at pitcher, as the Dodgers tool themselves for a run at Shohei Ohtani, either at the trade deadline or a few months later in free agency. Giving Martinez a one-year deal gives Andrew Friedman that flexibility.
Martinez is a good hitter, and in his prime a more dangerous one than Justin Turner. But at this stage in their careers, there isn’t a lot of difference between the two. In 2022, Martinez had an OPS of .789 compared to Turner’s .788. The Dodgers are banking that there is still more upside potential in 2023 to Martinez, who is three years younger than Turner. It’s a decent business proposition.
However, that doesn’t make this day any less of a bummer for Dodger fans. Other than perhaps Clayton Kershaw, Turner has come to define this Dodger team over the last decade. He was the beating heart of the Dodgers lineup, and it was unbearably sad that the little Covid kerfuffle at the end of Game 6 prevented JT from being on the field to celebrate the Dodger victory in the World Series in 2020. I would have loved Turner to get one more chance to replay that moment in front of a packed Dodger Stadium crowd. But alas, we know what happened these last two seasons in October.
So now Turner will play out his career where it all started, in the American League East. There, he will put the finishing touches on a career that didn’t really get rolling until he was almost 30, but one that will have a lasting impact on the Dodger fans for years to come.
Not to mention all the great work that Justin and his wife Kourtney do through their charitable foundation. It was nice that the final scene of JT’s LA career would be his receiving the Roberto Clemente award at this year’s World Series. His good works will ripple throughout this community for a good long while, whether he’s wearing Dodger Blue or not. Unfortunately, the Dodgers only play the Red Sox at Fenway next season, so the Dodger faithful will have to wait another year to thank Turner in person. But I can only imagine the ovation that is waiting for him upon his return.
In city so often full of primadonnas, Justin Turner was a ballplayer. A good ol’ fashioned hard-nosed ballplayer. But one with a heart of gold. And we are all the better for it.
Thanks for the memories, Justin. Do what you need to do in Fenway, but we all know your true home is Chavez Ravine. We’ll keep the light on for you.
