Trea Turner Reveals Dodgers Didn’t Come Calling During Free Agency Last Winter
With Trea Turner’s return to Dodger Stadium this week, we had the first opportunity to discuss the former Dodger’s trip through free agency this past winter. As we know, he ended up signing a monster $300 million deal to join the NL Pennant winning Phillies for the next 10 years. But still, there was a desire to know more about LA’s effort to bring the shortstop back before he signed that deal.
What was the story of his first foray through free agency and was his need to be on the east coast a real thing? Here’s how the sequence of questions and answers went.
There’s a narrative out there that under no circumstances, did you want to stay long-term on the west coast. If the Dodgers would have pursued you, would you have entertained that idea?
“For sure. I entertained one west coast team (the San Diego Padres). I definitely would have entertained another. Especially one that I enjoyed playing for and was familiar with. So yeah, it didn’t work out but I definitely would have entertained it. I thought they would be on me, they weren’t, but it would have been definitely in my top two teams to join.”
Via SportsNet LA
Are you surprised they didn’t?
“I don’t know if ‘surprised’ is the right word. I had conversations with them during spring training last year, and that didn’t work out. So, once that happened, you know, I think anything’s possible. So I wasn’t really surprised, but it’s a business.”
“I told Andrew and them just be honest with me and I’ll be honest with you and I thought we have great communication. You know, I tip my cap to him, they communicated very well the time I was there and that’s all I asked of them. So like I said, just didn’t work out but but yeah, no contact there.”
By all accounts, the Dodgers and Andrew Friedman had the plan to hand the keys to shortstop over to Gavin Lux. As Trea mentioned, he and the Dodgers briefly held extension talks during spring training last season and it seems during those conversations, LA may have realized that the shortstop would be out of their price range.
If the Dodgers were willing to go to $300 million for a shortstop, Corey Seager would likely still be a Dodger…
Turner returned to Dodger Stadium to a bit of a mixed reaction.
That’s the thing: successful franchises plan years and years out. Friedman & Co. knew they couldn’t spend that kind of money for Seager or Turner. Plus, they had Lux who they figured would be the SS of the future. And cheap. It allowed them to get under the luxury tax, and reset that tax. Now, they can go spend bigly on Ohtani this winter, or summer….
Quite simple for the reason why. He was going to get 10-11 years out of the Dodgers.