Dodgers: Trea Turner Open to Signing With a West Coast Team in Free Agency
At this point, it's slightly bewildering how little talk there's been about a possible extension for Dodger superstar shortstop Trea Turner. For those questioning the "superstar" label, Turner led all position players in WAR last year. Enough said.
Considering the questions surrounding Gavin Lux, it would make some sense that the Dodgers would be very much inclined to keep Turner around. Trea is currently in the final year of his contract with LA and mentioned that the Dodgers front office communicated to him that they would not be offering him an extension before the season.
That doesn't mean that Turner is gone. Plus, if Trevor Bauer's 324-game suspension is upheld, the Dodgers would have some extra cash on hand to retain Turner.
However, Jon Heyman of MLB.com and the NY Post reported that Turner, a Florida native, would prefer to play on the east coast in the near future. But in that same report, Heyman also stated that Turner is open to the idea of staying on the west coast.
“However, Turner, from Lake Worth, Fla., is said by sources to at first have had a negative reaction to the trade out west and still believed to prefer the East Coast, though some of that may be related to the 2021 position switch, and folks close to him insist he’s settled in and won’t rule out the West Coast.”
The Dodgers can offer Turner at any point this season, and considering team president Andrew Friedman's past dealings, LA might offer Trea a highly lucrative, shorter-term deal to keep him in Dodger blue.
There is a nice crop of shortstop talent that Friedman and the Dodgers could pivot to if Turner walks this coming winter. Don't shoot the messenger, but former Houston shortstop Carlos Correa could be available if he declines his player option with the Twins. The Red Sox Xander Bogaerts could also be on the market.
