Justin Turner has been incredible for the Dodgers.
On December 3, 2013, the New York Mets non-tendered a 29-year-old, clean-shaven utility infielder named Justin Turner. For much of the offseason, Turner remained unsigned, waiting for his opportunity. Eventually, opportunity rang in the form of Dodgers bench coach Tim Wallach, who saw Turner hitting at a Cal State Fullerton alumni game, leading to Turner signing a minor-league contract with the Dodgers on February 5, 2014. By March 5, Turner was added to the major-league roster, and since then has never looked back.
In his four years with the Dodgers, Turner has emerged as the team’s starting third baseman, three-hitter, and the leader in the clubhouse with his trademark red beard. The proud owner of a three-year, $48 million contract to stay in LA, in his four years with the Dodgers, Turner has excelled, with the following numbers.
Turner four years with the Dodgers
-2014: 109 G, 46 R, 98 H, 21 2B, 7 HR, 43 RBI, .340/.404/.493, 4.3 WAR
-2015: 126 G, 55 R, 113 H, 26 2B, 16 HR, 60 RBI, .294/.370/.491, 3.9 WAR
-2016: 151 G, 79 R, 153 H, 34 2B, 27 HR, 90 RBI, .275/.339/.493, 5.9 WAR
-2017: 130 G, 72 R, 147 H, 32 2B, 21 HR, 71 RBI, .322/.415/.530, 5.7 WAR
2014-2017 Per Season Average, 2014-2017: 129 G, 63 R, 128 H, 28 2B, 18 HR, 66 RBI, .303/.378/.502, 4.7 WAR
Regular season success aside, Turner has also raked in the playoffs, appearing in 25 games for the Dodgers across six postseason series, hitting 378/.495/.659 with 11 R, 31 H, 6 2B, 5 HR, and 23 RBI. In the 2015 NLDS against the Mets, Turner hit .526 with an LCS record six doubles, and through four games of this years NLCS against the Cubs, Turner is hitting 385/.556/.8462017 in 13 at-bats, with 2 R, 5 H, 2 HR, 6 RBI, and 5:2 BB to K ratio. Should the Dodgers advance to the World Series, Turner is the likely NLCS MVP, having hit a walk-off three-run home run off of John Lackey to win Game 2 of the series 4-1, twenty-nine years to the day since the Dodgers last postseason walk-off home run, Kirk Gibson’s homer off of Dennis Eckersley to win Game 1 of the 1988 World Series.
For comparison’s sake, here are some of the players that the New York Mets decided to keep on their roster over Turner during the 2014 season, as well as how they performed that year.
SS Rubin Tejada
119 G, 30 R, 84 H, 11 2B, 5 HR, 34 RBI, .237/.342/.310, 1.3 WAR
LF Eric Young
100 G, 48 R, 64 H, 10 2B, 1 HR, 17 RBI, .229/.299/.311, 0.9 WAR
OF Chris Young
88 G, 31 R, 52 H, 12 2B, 8 HR, 28 RBI, .205/.283/.346, -0.1 WAR
INF Wilmer Flores
78 G, 28 R, 65 H, 13 2B, 6 HR, 29 RBI, .251/.286/.378, 0.2 WAR
UT Eric Campbell
85 G, 16 R, 50 H, 9 2B, 3 HR, 16 RBI, .263/.322/.358, 0.4 WAR
OF Matt den Dekker
53 G, 23 R, 11 2B, 0 HR, 7 RBI, .250/.345/.322, 0.9 WAR
OF Bobby Abreu (Age 40)
78 G, 12 R, 33 H, 9 2B, 1 HR, 14 RBI, .248/.342/.338, -0.6 WAR
In total, these seven players the Mets kept over Turner, all of whom played in at least one-third of the Mets total games in 2014, produced 3.0 WAR. In 2014 alone, Turner outperformed all seven Mets, finishing with a 4.9 WAR, with only Wilmer Flores still with the Mets in 2017. For a franchise that is known for its inept ownership and bonehead moves throughout its history, letting Justin Turner leave New York for Los Angeles only for him to develop into a star has to rank amongst the franchises’ worst moves ever.
