In a social media poll, Dodgers fans said they’d rather have Los Angeles re-sign shortstop Trea Turner than go after Yankees slugger Aaron Judge.
As the Dodgers spend the rest of October watching baseball instead of playing baseball like they had planned, their fans are starting to look ahead to free agency, which starts after the end of the World Series.
One big question on everyone’s mind is whether Los Angeles will re-sign shortstop Trea Turner, who will be hitting free agency for the first time after spending a year and a half in L.A.
Another question is whether L.A. might pursue Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge, who is likely to win the American League MVP Award after setting a new AL record with 62 homers and leading the league in almost every offensive category.
Our friends at Dodgers Nation ran a fan poll about these two issues, asking simply: If the Dodgers could sign only Trea or Judge, which would you prefer?
After over 9,000 answers, the answer is: Trea Turner.
The results aren’t extremely lopsided, but 57.5% is a pretty solid margin of victory. Those who voted for Trea cited a few factors:
Age — Neither is as young as some of the marquee free agents of recent years, but Turner is 14 months younger than Judge.Durability — Judge has played in 77 percent of his team’s games over the last five seasons; Turner has played in 92 percent of his team’s.Skillset — Some believe Turner’s game, built on speed and athleticism, might age better than Judge’s power game.
Those voting for Judge were smaller in number but much more vociferous in their opinions, which can be boiled down to one bullet point:
What are you, a moron? Judge just hit 62 homers! He’s a beast! Trea’s defense cost us the NLDS!
When healthy, Judge has been a better player than Turner over the past several years. And none of these arguments factor in the actual cost to sign either player. But one thing’s for sure: Dodger fans will have strong opinions, no matter what happens.
