Roger Arrieta
Trea Turner’s Free Agency
When the Dodgers made a trade deadline deal to acquire Trea Turner and Max Scherzer, it seemed like an unnecessary move. Seager was still the everyday shortstop, and there was belief he’d come back. Well we’re just a few weeks from opening day, Seager left, and Turner gets to move back to his natural position.
Corey Seager earned a 10 year, $325 million dollar deal from the Texas Rangers. Truth be told I don’t blame him for taking that money. It was reported that the Dodgers best offer was $250 million dollars over 8 years. They went big, but not big enough, and Texas lives up to its “everything is bigger” mantra.
Trea enters the final year of his contract, and last season, he deserved more attention in the MVP conversation. The five-tool shortstop led the MLB in batting average and hits, and finished 3rd in stolen bases. He also tacked on 28 home runs and 77 RBIs for a .911 OPS.
Turner was asked about his upcoming free agency and if he is willing to re-sign. He said he spoke with the Dodgers before the lockout and is open to more talks of an extension this spring. He also called LA a great place to play.
Now of course he’s not just gonna come right out and say “I hate it here, there’s no way I’m re-signing” but it’s always encouraging to hear a superstar of his caliber say he wants to stay.
Now let’s wrap things up with money. Turner will be making $18.5 million dollars this season. Which means he could be in line for a big pay day, considering he’s only 28. Francisco Lindor is the highest paid shortstop, making $34 million dollars a season, and Turner won’t be expecting that. If I was Andrew Freidman, I’d offer Turner something along the lines of a 4 year deal and $88 million dollars, giving him $22 million per year, and making him the 3rd highest paid shortstop in the game.
We can’t afford to lose his silky slides. We just can’t.
