ESPN.com reports that the Dodgers might pass on re-signing shortstop Trea Turner in favor of pursuing free-agent slugger Aaron Judge.
Over at ESPN.com, Mark Feinsand writes a piece on eight possible suitors for Dodgers shortstop Trea Turner, who will become a free agent after the World Series ends.
But perhaps the most notable part of the article isn’t really about Turner, but instead about one big reason the Dodgers might decide not to bring him back.
If Turner is open to remaining on the West Coast, the Dodgers would certainly make sense, after he played the past year and a half in Los Angeles. That said, there has been a lot of talk that the Dodgers are prepared to let Turner walk in order to make a big play for Judge, a scenario that could take the NL West champions out of play for the shortstop.
The only bigger free agent on the market than Trea will be Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge, coming off a 62-homer season that saw him come within five batting average points of winning a triple crown. It was the best season of Judge’s impressive career, and it couldn’t have come at a better time for him as he heads into free agency for the first time.
Judge is going to make a ton of money, with the main question being the length of the contract. He’ll turn 31 just after Opening Day next season, and he’s played in more than 70 percent of his teams games just three times in his six full seasons as a big-leaguer. A guy on the wrong side of 30 with a history of injuries could scare some teams off.
The upside, of course, is monstrous. Judge averages 49 homers per 162 games in his career, and he has a great eye at the plate with a .394 career on-base percentage.
The Dodgers have been in on similar free agents in the past. When Bryce Harper was available, L.A. reportedly tried unsuccessfully to lure him in with a high-dollar, short-term contract. Judge, even more than Harper, will likely be looking to cash in as much as possible, knowing that at his age, this is likely to be his only big payday. So the Dodgers would seemingly have to go with a longer contract than they’ve shown a willingness to do in the past.
But it sure is fun to picture Judge in Dodger Blue in the heart of that Dodgers lineup.
