Justin Turner, who transferred to the Boston Red Sox this time, was no different from a franchise star of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Selected by the Cincinnati Reds with the 204th overall pick in the 7th round of the 2006 draft, Turner signed with a $50,000 signing bonus. He made his major league debut the following year after being traded to the Baltimore Orioles at the Winter Meeting in December 2008.
Turner, who did not get out of the minor leagues much in Baltimore, transferred to the New York Mets after waiting for release (DFA) in May 2010, but his status was a minor leaguer. After appearing in 117 games as a full-time major leaguer in 2011, he was a mediocre player who continued to play as a part-time infielder.
It was after he moved to the Dodgers that he rose to stardom. Turner, who was released as a non-tender from the Mets at the end of 2013 and became a free agent and moved to the Dodgers, established himself as a starting third baseman and developed into a clutch hitter with long hits. He hit 27 home runs and 90 runs batted in in 2016, and had a batting average of 0.322 and 21 home runs in 2017. He was named MVP of the National League Championship Series in 2017 and played a key role in winning the World Series in 2020.
His impactful blow at the decisive moment earned him the nickname ‘Turner Time’, and he raised his name as a franchise star by signing free agency contracts with the Dodgers a total of three times. However, this time when he qualified as a free agent for the fourth time in his life, the Dodgers turned away. He gave up his 16 million dollar team option next year and paid a buyout of 2 million dollars. There are not a few fans who oppose the Dodgers club’s policy of giving up Turner.
But player contracts are a business. It is a decision that is made after sufficiently considering profit and loss and future value. It doesn’t hurt that the 38-year-old Turner is spending the second half of his career in Boston. There are also Kenley Jansen, Kiki Hernandez, Alex Verdugo, and Chris Martin, who played together for the Dodgers. 스포츠토토
However, looking back, the Dodgers are considered a team whose contract renewal rate with internal free agents has fallen significantly. Six players who became free agents this winter, including Turner and Martin, who signed with Boston, Tyler Anderson (LA Angels), Andrew Heaney (Texas), and Joey Gallo (Minnesota). The only player to re-sign is Clayton Kershaw. The Dodgers’ affection for Kershaw, who has suffered frequent injuries recently, is revealed in a one-year contract for two consecutive years.
However, the Dodgers have said goodbye to most of their traditionally big players. Last year, Corey Seager, Max Scherzer, Jansen and Joe Kelly left, and the year before that, Zak Pederson, Alex Wood and Hernandez moved on. And in December 2019, Ryu Hyun-jin and Rich Hill cut ties with the Dodgers. This includes Manny Machado, Yasmani Grandal in 2018, and Yu Darvish in 2017.
A shocking event this winter was the abandonment of 2017 Rookie of the Year, 2019 MVP and franchise star player Cody Bellinger. Bellinger, who was released as a non-tender earlier this month, was taken by the Chicago Cubs for $37.5 million for ‘1 + 1 year’.
In May 1998, the Dodgers traded Mike Piazza, who is said to be the best offensive catcher in history, to the Florida Marlins. Immediately traded back to the Mets, Piazza would continue to build a legendary career thereafter. Gary Sheffield, who was transferred to the Dodgers as Piazza’s partner at the time, hit 300-30 home runs and 100 RBIs in three consecutive seasons from 1999 to 2001, receiving absolute support from LA fans, but was traded back to the Atlanta Braves in February 2002.
Park Chan-ho also moved to Texas, which offered 5 years and 65 million dollars through free agent contract in December 2001, and at that time, the Dodgers were known to have offered a 2-year contract. This was in stark contrast to the one year prior when Park Chan-ho and his teammate Darren Dryport were captured for five years and a huge sum of 55 million dollars. However, Dryport is remembered as the Dodgers’ representative FA contract failure.
Three years ago, the Dodgers ignored Ryu Hyun-jin, the second-place Cy Young player. Ryu Hyun-jin is currently recovering from elbow surgery. Of course, it’s hard to deny that the Dodgers’ cool-headed approach to internal free agents has put them in the top spot.