Pending Star Free Agent Linked To SF Giants has Message for Potential Suitors

Dodger’s shortstop Trea Turner recently eclipsed playing 162 total games for the team, so the SF Giants and their fans have gotten accustomed to seeing him in rival Dodger blue. Turner, 29, will be a free agent at the end of the 2022 campaign, so could the Giants be interested in bringing him in on the other side of the rivalry?  

Pending Star Free Agent Linked To SF Giants has Message for Potential Suitors

One thing is known: It will cost a fortune to sign him. Robert Murray of FanSided believes Turner will surpass Corey Seager’s $325M contract he penned with the Texas Rangers this past offseason.

Before Wednesday’s Dodgers-Brewers game, Turner was interviewed by NBC Sports Chicago, who asked about his pending free agency and how it ties to the Cubs. Turner left an interesting message for any team who wants to try and sign him this offseason, not just the Cubs.

“From multiple organizations, you’d want to know what they expect or where it’s going or what they’re trying to do — kind of a vision... Whatever that vision is it is. But I think that’s mandatory...you need to know how the next few years look and how that pertains to you, your family, and your career...it’s definitely a factor in picking a team.”

Turner, who won a World Series in 2019 with the Washington Nationals, is a career .303 hitter, with 121 home runs in 806 games spread across eight major league seasons. He will join a free agent class that includes the following: Jacob deGrom, Carlos Rodon, Carlos Correa (assuming they opt-out), and Aaron Judge. Judge, in particular, could be of interest to the Giants given their need for outfield help and the fact that the seven-year veteran is from northern California.

The list of teams that need, and could afford, a shortstop of Trea Turner’s caliber is relatively short (unless a team like the Twins swoop in again with a short-term, opt-out heavy, high AAV deal). The Cubs, Yankees, and Dodgers will be and already have been linked to Correa and Turner, but the Giants have been linked to Turner as well.

Some have floated the possibility of Turner signing to play second base (much like he did in 2021 when he was originally traded to the Dodgers) and moving to shortstop once Brandon Crawford retires.

The idea is a nice possibility, but would Farhan Zaidi be willing to entertain such a huge salary figure? They were in the mix for Bryce Harper in 2019, rumored interested in Juan Soto this past trade deadline, and have also been previously a predicted destination for Judge.

If the SF Giants want to pursue Turner and pluck him from the Dodgers, they must first convince him there is a strong plan in place, and the rest will work itself out.