Odds Rising For Seattle Mariners to Bring Back Justin Turner in Free Agency
The first base market has exploded over the last four days, with Christian Walker joining the Houston Astros, Paul Goldschmidt landing with the New York Yankees, Josh Naylor getting traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks and Carlos Santana going to the Cleveland Guardians.
Furthermore, the Washington Nationals have traded for Nathaniel Lowe and the Texas Rangers have signed Joc Pederson.
As the game of musical chairs continues, it's looking more and more possible that the Seattle Mariners will land a reunion with Justin Turner. While obviously not guaranteed, there's only so many moves left on the board for Turner that don't involve Seattle.
Pete Alonso is the other big name at first base, but he would appear out of the Mariners price range. It seems likely that he'll return to the New York Mets at this point and the M's will have the ability to bring back a player they really value.
In 48 games with the Mariners after the midseason trade from the Jays, he hit .264 with five homers, 24 RBI and a .363 on-base percentage. He helped the M's get to within one game of the playoffs.
For the season as a whole, Turner hit .259 with 11 homers.
Turner just finished the 16th year of his career with the Baltimore Orioles, New York Mets, Los Angeles Dodgers, Boston Red Sox, Blue Jays and Mariners. He's a .285 lifetime hitter who helped the Dodgers win the World Series in the COVID-shortened 2020 season.
The Mariners have also been looking to bring in veteran leadership this offseason, and Turner fits the bill. He could also serve as a first base platoon partner for Luke Raley and spend time at designated hitter.
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