Justin Turner

[OldSchoolSnapper]

I take the silence and lack of move being made on Turner to mean the Dodgers are scrambling to figure out a way to keep him. That could be scrambling on final contact numbers, roster moves, whatever, but I fully expect him to be a Dodger and we will be left with whatever we have patched together to this point.

 

Travis Shaw Round 2 baby!

[adambr2]

I don't think the Dodgers need to scramble to find a way to keep Turner honestly. They have money and Turner wants to be there. I think it's entirely possible that the Dodgers' interest in keeping him is only lukewarm and they might just be sticking to a 1 year offer and Turner is trying to at least squeeze out a decent 2 year deal out of them before signing.

 

It's a tough situation for the Brewers. Not only are they competing with LA's money but the guy they want is already prone to stay in LA so they have to really get above and beyond whatever LA is offering. I can understand the interest in Turner, but it's hard to know if he even really wants to be here.

[monty57]

Has any team ever went over the threshold that costs them draft slots?

 

There is no such threshold. Your first pick (unless you pick in the top 6) gets pushed back 10 spots. That's it. Which is not nothing, but if you're the Dodgers then that means picking 38th-40th instead of 28th-40th. The difference between the type of player available at each spot is a lot less than what spending $30m extra per year on short-term deals gets you.

 

That's what I meant by "draft slots." If it truly were "nothing," then teams wouldn't mind going over it. However, since it was put into play I don't think any team has went over the limit, and numerous teams have worked hard to shed salary. Therefore, I think teams would disagree with the notion that it's "nothing."

 

Baseball teams can't trade picks like they can in the NFL, so we don't have as good a read on how much teams value draft slots. However, teams in the NFL give up quite a bit just to move up one or two slots, so they are valued quite highly. I could see the potential to drop ten slots as a significant hurdle to the Dodgers signing Turner. Friedman builds his teams from the ground up, so not having a first round pick would probably be tough for him to swallow.

[Madhawk23]

I don't think the Dodgers need to scramble to find a way to keep Turner honestly. They have money and Turner wants to be there. I think it's entirely possible that the Dodgers' interest in keeping him is only lukewarm and they might just be sticking to a 1 year offer and Turner is trying to at least squeeze out a decent 2 year deal out of them before signing.

 

It's a tough situation for the Brewers. Not only are they competing with LA's money but the guy they want is already prone to stay in LA so they have to really get above and beyond whatever LA is offering. I can understand the interest in Turner, but it's hard to know if he even really wants to be here.

 

Yep - I think this is exactly the situation we are in with Turner. We're talking about a guy who is 36 years old and potentially looking at cashing in on his final big league contract. He's seen his career blossom in LA, and now he has to decide if it is really worth leaving that comfortable spot to move onto another team for his final 2-3 years of his career. Not to mention - does he have a family? If he does - I'm sure they aren't going to be thrilled about being uprooted, and let's face it - for most people LA and southern Cal is a much more desirable living spot than Milwaukee. So, I'm sure there is so much that is going into this decision for Turner - and that's assuming of course that we're even a legitimate candidate with our current offer on the table?

[Outlander]

I'm so skeptical of Turner leaving LA. It's his hometown. People love him there. He's really involved in the community, including lots of charity work, a foundation, etc., etc. He's made a lot of money in his career, so I just don't see him bailing for an extra year with Milwaukee or wherever.

 

Unless the Dodgers are really putting the screws on Turner, I'm guessing he re-signs. It just makes too much sense.

 

 

Money talks. He’ll leave in a heartbeat if another team comes near where he wants to be money wise.

This gives me flashbacks to 1998 when the Brewers were going to give Lofton 45 million over 5 years which actually would have turned out well for the Brewers even considering length of contract. Unfortunately Lofton went back to Cleveland for 24 million over three years and the Brewers traded for a not so good Grissom.

[Eye Black]

I thought DL moves couldn't be made until well into spring training.

Yes, you're correct. It looks like IL moves can't be made until the start of the season. For some reason I was thinking the 60-day IL operated differently.

 

So the Dodgers have to do something just to squeeze Bauer onto their roster, let alone make room for Turner.

 

The blog Dodgers Nation speculates that OF/1B Luke Raley is the most likely potential DFA among the current 40-man roster. If that is the case the Brewers should be salivating to make a claim on Raley, a former Twins prospect sent to the Dodgers along with Brusdar Graterol in the Kenta Maeda trade last February, who would immediately become the best potential 1B prospect in the Brewers system (note: he hasn't actually played 1B the past couple of years).

 

It makes sense for the Dodgers to ultimately workout a trade to free up 40-man space because seemingly everyone on their 40-man roster (that isn't tied into a bad contract) has some amount of trade value.

[Lathund]

Has any team ever went over the threshold that costs them draft slots?

 

There is no such threshold. Your first pick (unless you pick in the top 6) gets pushed back 10 spots. That's it. Which is not nothing, but if you're the Dodgers then that means picking 38th-40th instead of 28th-40th. The difference between the type of player available at each spot is a lot less than what spending $30m extra per year on short-term deals gets you.

 

That's what I meant by "draft slots." If it truly were "nothing," then teams wouldn't mind going over it. However, since it was put into play I don't think any team has went over the limit, and numerous teams have worked hard to shed salary. Therefore, I think teams would disagree with the notion that it's "nothing."

 

Good thing I specifically said it wasn't "nothing" then, so not sure who those teams would be disagreeing with.

 

The real reason teams (The ones who do have the resources to easily do so at least) don't go over it though is that it means less money on owners' pockets. The draft slot just let's them pretend it's about competitiveness.

[Eye Black]

Per Ken Rosenthal:

 

Mets interested in free-agent 3B Justin Turner, but parties not matching up on years/dollars, sources tell The Athletic. NYM also not sure what J.D. Davis might bring in a trade. Brewers owner Mark Attanasio intrigued by Turner as well. Dodgers (2-year deal?) remain best bet.

[Madhawk23]

Per Ken Rosenthal:

 

Mets interested in free-agent 3B Justin Turner, but parties not matching up on years/dollars, sources tell The Athletic. NYM also not sure what J.D. Davis might bring in a trade. Brewers owner Mark Attanasio intrigued by Turner as well. Dodgers (2-year deal?) remain best bet.

 

Very interesting that Rosenthal specifically mentions Mark A in his tweet. So, cleary this is the player (or one of the players) that Mark A met or talked to directly about coming to Milwaukee. I think we all assumed that to be true, but I think this validates it even more - which means that we are pretty serious about trying to get a deal done with him.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

Per Ken Rosenthal:

 

Mets interested in free-agent 3B Justin Turner, but parties not matching up on years/dollars, sources tell The Athletic. NYM also not sure what J.D. Davis might bring in a trade. Brewers owner Mark Attanasio intrigued by Turner as well. Dodgers (2-year deal?) remain best bet.

 

Very interesting that Rosenthal specifically mentions Mark A in his tweet. So, cleary this is the player (or one of the players) that Mark A met or talked to directly about coming to Milwaukee. I think we all assumed that to be true, but I think this validates it even more - which means that we are pretty serious about trying to get a deal done with him.

 

I assume that if the Mets wee to sign Turner, it would make either Davis or Dom Smith available in a trade. Both would be solid fits for the Brewers.

[PeaveyFury]

 

I assume that if the Mets wee to sign Turner, it would make either Davis or Dom Smith available in a trade. Both would be solid fits for the Brewers.

 

I haven't looked deeper to see how Davis would project as a 1B, but I believe he'd project to be an absolute disaster as a 3B if expected to play there...

[DR28]

Per Ken Rosenthal:

 

Mets interested in free-agent 3B Justin Turner, but parties not matching up on years/dollars, sources tell The Athletic. NYM also not sure what J.D. Davis might bring in a trade. Brewers owner Mark Attanasio intrigued by Turner as well. Dodgers (2-year deal?) remain best bet.

 

Very interesting that Rosenthal specifically mentions Mark A in his tweet. So, cleary this is the player (or one of the players) that Mark A met or talked to directly about coming to Milwaukee. I think we all assumed that to be true, but I think this validates it even more - which means that we are pretty serious about trying to get a deal done with him.

 

I assume that if the Mets wee to sign Turner, it would make either Davis or Dom Smith available in a trade. Both would be solid fits for the Brewers.

 

I would love J.D. but I believe I read his 3B D is suspect??

[TURBO]

I'd love Smith, Davis has been underwhelming so far.

[Madhawk23]

I understand the interest in Davis and Smith - due to their potential and bats. But, where would we play either of those guys - now that we are moving Hiura to 1B? I think we'd be better off just ponying up the money to sign Turner on a 2 year deal, and save whatever prospects we'd have to haul off to the Mets to get one of those guys that wouldn't really fit that well with our needs at this moment.

[Jopal78]

Per Ken Rosenthal:

 

Mets interested in free-agent 3B Justin Turner, but parties not matching up on years/dollars, sources tell The Athletic. NYM also not sure what J.D. Davis might bring in a trade. Brewers owner Mark Attanasio intrigued by Turner as well. Dodgers (2-year deal?) remain best bet.

 

If you're reading between the lines here, it sounds like Turner will sign with whatever team gives him a three year contract. It appears the Mets are interested but unwilling to go to three years, the Brewers and their owner are interested but also seemingly unwilling to commit for 3 years.

 

This is how these things typically play out, Turner can sit and wait for someone to meet his demands and if nobody does he can take the best of the lesser offers on the table, which seemingly would be a short contract with the Dodgers.

[DR28]

So its us, Mets, Dodgers and I'm sure a "mystery team"... Yea I don't see us winning that war, too bad I was really getting excited thinking about Turner at 3B.

[SRB]

Not very interested in J.D. Davis, unless he is almost free. I wouldn't be surprised to the Mets went out and got Turner given how mad some of their fanbase is about missing out on Bauer.

[brewerfan82]

As a fan, if you want the team to make a possibly reckless move, then it's probably a good thing to hear the owner is in on it. Personally, I'm feeling up for a little reckless Give'm three years Mark!

[Eye Black]

As a fan, if you want the team to make a possibly reckless move, then it's probably a good thing to hear the owner is in on it. Personally, I'm feeling up for a little reckless Give'm three years Mark!

Agreed. The best chance the Brewers have for this type of signing is if Mark Attanasio is an admirer of Turner.

 

Sort of reminds me a little bit of this Attanasio Q&A from 2013:

 

Q. You played an active role in the signing of free-agent pitcher Kyle Lohse. What was the key to getting that deal done, and what impact do you see that acquisition making for your club?

 

A. We don't have many big free-agent signings, and each one plays out a little differently. Last year, when we signed (third baseman) Aramis Ramirez, (general manager) Doug Melvin handled all the negotiations with Aramis' agent, and (manager) Ron Roenicke and I met with Aramis in Los Angeles when he was visiting the Angels and sold him on the Brewers.

 

In Kyle's case, he knew our team well, having competed against us in the NL Central since 2006 with the Reds and the Cardinals, and we were the destination of choice for him, so no selling was necessary. I was the primary point of contact with (agent) Scott Boras, who often goes directly to ownership in negotiations. That said, I spoke to Doug almost daily about this as the discussions gained momentum in the last 10 days.

 

Doug and I talked extensively about the balance between keeping the first-round draft choice - putting the club in a good position for the future - and improving our team now by adding a legitimate top-of-the-rotation starter who has competed very effectively in the NL Central. We both put a priority on rewarding our fans for their enormous support of the team, with attendance figures unmatched in MLB for our market size.

[wibadgers23]

My guess is LA is offering either a 1 or 2 year deal and Milwaukee is offering one more year and he’s just waiting LA out. Otherwise I think he would have re-signed with LA by now. I’m sure he’s willing to wait at least another week or so until pitchers and catchers report.

[PeaveyFury]

My guess is LA is offering either a 1 or 2 year deal and Milwaukee is offering one more year and he’s just waiting LA out. Otherwise I think he would have re-signed with LA by now. I’m sure he’s willing to wait at least another week or so until pitchers and catchers report.

 

I think this is it. I think it actually plays to Milwaukee's favor, as LA really has no need to do so. The Dodgers are smartly run, and the smart play for them is to go with a guy like Rios rather than paying gobs of money to Turner.

[adambr2]

My guess is LA is offering either a 1 or 2 year deal and Milwaukee is offering one more year and he’s just waiting LA out. Otherwise I think he would have re-signed with LA by now. I’m sure he’s willing to wait at least another week or so until pitchers and catchers report.

 

I think this is it. I think it actually plays to Milwaukee's favor, as LA really has no need to do so. The Dodgers are smartly run, and the smart play for them is to go with a guy like Rios rather than paying gobs of money to Turner.

 

But if the Mets are in play, they also have far less financial constraints and seem far more likely to me than the Dodgers to go 3 years on Turner if it requires it just to get it done.

[Warning Track Power]

My guess is LA is offering either a 1 or 2 year deal and Milwaukee is offering one more year and he’s just waiting LA out. Otherwise I think he would have re-signed with LA by now. I’m sure he’s willing to wait at least another week or so until pitchers and catchers report.

 

I think this is it. I think it actually plays to Milwaukee's favor, as LA really has no need to do so. The Dodgers are smartly run, and the smart play for them is to go with a guy like Rios rather than paying gobs of money to Turner.

 

But if the Mets are in play, they also have far less financial constraints and seem far more likely to me than the Dodgers to go 3 years on Turner if it requires it just to get it done.

As currently constructed, that Mets team could be absolute butchers in the field with Dom Smith having to play LF (Alonso at 1B), JD Davis at 3B, and Jose Martinez on the roster.

[TURBO]

If the Mets REALLY want Turner, we are probably going to be out of the running...

[brewers888]

Turner is going back to the Dodgers or if the Mets overpay maybe he goes there. The question then becomes do we go sign Franco or let Punch and Judy Urias slug .350 or so at the hot corner.

 

I still think this offense is woefully short to be a contender even in a weak division.