Free Agent Poll: Trea Turner

We have used this idea for the last couple of years. The idea is to go through some of the top free agents, use the contract FanGraphs suggests they will get and have a poll asking if we would like to sign him for that amount.

Ben Clemens and Keith Law have Trea Turner in the second spot on their lists of top 50 free agents.

Trea played shortstop (160 games!) for the Dodgers last year after playing second base for them after they picked him up in a trade from the Nationals in 2021. Trea played some center field in the past too. He turns 30 on June 30th next year.

He was an All-Star and a Silver Slugger this year, hitting .298/.343/.466 with 21 home runs and 27 steals (caught just 3 times), a slight drop from 2021 when he had a .911 OPS, 28 home runs and a league-leading 32 steals.

Keith Law says:

Turner changed his approach this year, chasing out of the zone more often than he had in any previous season, going after pitches below the zone and down and away while whiffing on them over 70 percent of the time he offered. It’s a shocking switch from someone who didn’t chase much in previous years, and while it’s probably not a permanent issue, it’s also not something you’d want to see when you’re about to give a player eight years and nine figures. He’s still an 80 runner and a solid-average defender at shortstop, and he was a plus defender at second in his brief time there after the midseason trade that sent him to L.A. a year ago, so there’s every reason to think he’ll stay at short for at least another 4-5 years. I think some of his overzealousness at the plate this year was him trying to repeat his huge power numbers from the prior season, but that’s probably not who he is as a hitter long term.

Ben Clemens:

Known primarily for his speed and contact skills, Turner is second only to Freddie Freeman in batting average and trails only Starling Marte in steals over the last three seasons. But where he has separated himself as an elite player is with his surprising pull power. He leads the majors in doubles over that three-year stretch and is just three homers off Corey Seager’s pace at the position. And with shifting now banned, his elite speed makes him a surer bet to stay at short for the long haul than at least a couple of the other prominent shortstops in this free agent class. Aside from his below-average plate discipline, Turner is a complete player, a superstar in his prime poised to land one of the offseason’s biggest deals.

Clemens figures him to get a nine-year contract at $32 million per, for a total of $288 million (I think that’s a little high, but what do I know?). I’m not sure I’d want to sign a middle infielder to a contract that carries him into his age-39 season.

Some of his value is his speed, which might tend to decline in his 30s. And he likely will have to move off short at some point (but he would still be a good defensive second baseman). He’s a better defensive SS than Bo but older, so he might decline sooner.

He would be an interesting signing....do you move him to second or Bo to second?

Anyway, Turner is a super player, he’s had fWAR valus of 6.8 and 6.3 the last two seasons.