Dodgers Offseason: LA Gets Slight Edge With JD Martinez Over Justin Turner

It remains to be seen how quickly JD Martinez will get acclimated into the Dodgers lineup

Ryan Menzie | Dec 27, 2022

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Los Angeles Dodgers

Losing fan favorite Justin Turner was painful. Turner gets to continue his baseball life with the Red Sox, but at-least J.D. Martinez came to the Dodgers in return.

Turner is three years older than Martinez and was an All-Star last in 2021 while Martinez was an All-Star the last two seasons. On paper it seems the Dodgers got the better end of the deal despite the dismay from fans.

It truly became the end of an era for the Dodgers who now look to their young studs and cheap additions to lead the way. The face value of bringing in Martinez and losing out on Turner was enough for pundits to believe the Dodgers made the right move (via Bradford Doolittle and David Schoenfield, ESPN).

ESPN gave the Dodgers a B grade and the Red Sox a C grade.

...I guess given the difference in age, I would give Martinez the edge on bounce-back potential or at least keeping level, and getting him on a one-year deal as opposed to two is an advantage.

The Dodgers have been invested in their players to reset the market on short term deals. In hindsight this seems like the safer option as the Dodgers continue to explore what other options are left.

The Red Sox can also land a potential veteran star in Turner who looks to continue playing at a high level. Clearly something is brewing for the Dodgers with all the money they have leftover and is one worth keeping an eye on with all the one-year contracts.

Published Dec 27, 2022

RYAN MENZIE

Ryan Menzie | Lead Contributor Ryan is an LA Native who has grown up praising the greatest athletes LA has had to offer. A love for sports ranging between basketball, football, volleyball and golf, a future Sports Management Masters graduate, and being engulfed into organized sports since seven years old, the passion and love for sports never ends for Ryan. If the words he writes don't paint the full picture of his true fandom, he will find more ways than one to tell the story and be more than willing to open up a nice LA sports debate with you. Favorite Player: Mookie Betts Favorite Moment: 2020 World Series. The Lakers won the NBA title and the Dodgers secured the World Series only a couple of months later. During such a rough time with COVID-19 and such a bleak look at how sports has tried to overcome the circumstances, it was a relief to see the night sky lit up for many nights and a makeshift parade in LA when it seemed like we needed it the most.