Dodgers Game 3: Austin Barnes Candid When Talking Justin Turner’s Value to Team

It’s been a while since I’ve typed this… the Dodgers are two wins away from a World Series championship. On Friday, LA proved that they truly feel they are the top dogs in the game of baseball.

A game 3 win featured outright dominance from Walker Buehler, a grab bag of feel-good moments for Austin Barnes, and perhaps most importantly, it featured veteran third baseman Justin Turner cementing himself as an all-time great in Dodgers’ franchise history.

It’s been well documented that Turner is the de facto leader of the Dodgers, especially through most of this 8 division title run. However, he’s in the final year of a 4-year deal he agreed to at Kenley Jansen’s wedding in the winter of 2016. And with that, the feeling of a window closing for the veteran core has been a topic throughout 2020.

After Friday’s 6-2 victory over the Rays, Austin Barnes was candid about what Turner means to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

He’s the heart and soul of this team. He’s been the heart and soul. JT’s a big player for us, he always has been. He’s a great guy in the clubhouse and we rely on him all the time.

It’s true. These guys do rely on Turner all the time. Only, it’s not always to make a big play or hit a big home run, JT is a rock in the Dodger clubhouse. We’ve heard the story of the simple group chat when the team was on the ropes against the Braves in the NLCS. Or he and Mookie Betts pulling the team together for a meeting before that NLCS. Or even Betts glowing about what he learned about Turner in his first season in LA.

And those are just the recent headlines.

Justin Turner indeed is the heart and soul of these Dodgers. And he’s two wins away from bringing a championship home for the team he grew up rooting for.

Baseball is the best.