Dodgers Team News

Dodgers: Justin Turner Willing to Move Away from Third Base for Anthony Rendon

Justin Turner was a journeyman before the Dodgers and Doug Latta turned him into a star. He bounced around the infield — first base to second to third. Now, with the impending free agency craze for Anthony Rendon, Turner is reportedly willing to move away from his post at the hot corner to accommodate Nationals’ superstar third baseman Anthony Rendon.

In a recent article for The Athletic, Andy McCullough ponders whether or not the Dodgers would be willing to make a move to sign Anthony Rendon and if Justin Turner would be willing to make the move to accommodate him.



Justin Turner Willing to Move from Hot Corner

According to Justin Turner, he has been in a similar position before. Back when Mets’ third baseman Todd Frazier was a hot commodity, Turner was told by the Dodgers’ front office that they were looking intensely at acquiring him:

“They told me they were going to trade for Todd Frazier a couple years ago. I was like, ‘Alright, whatever.’ That’s not my job.”

Since the deal did not come into fruition, Turner has continued to show up when it matters most, playing solid defense and bringing his bat to the table when healthy.

Turner seemed almost apathetic at the possible situation of the Dodgers acquiring Rendon when he was questioned during the NLDS against the Washington Nationals. However, he expressed an overall willingness to ‘bounce around’:

“I’ve bounced around [the diamond] my whole career. I don’t care.”

Turner’s seemingly natural fit would be at first base considering his declining defensive ability that seems to correlate with his age. However, the presence of Max Muncy and the rise of Gavin Lux could crowd out one of the players in a Rendon-to-LA situation, with shortstop Corey Seager being the name with the most banter in the news.

Turner spoke more regarding the situation:

“It’s out of my control. Maybe they’ll call and say, ‘Hey, this is what we’re going to do. What do you think?’ But I doubt it. It’s not their job to get permission from players. Whatever they want to do is what they want to do.”

Would the Dodgers Sign Rendon?

The narrative surrounding the Dodgers continues to be that they do not sign big money players outside of their own. This narrative has yet to be shaken and with an unnatural defensive fit in Rendon, is there even a chance that the Dodgers pursue him?

The most likely price range for Rendon is in the $30-35 million range in terms of average annual value, but Rendon’s situation is different. He has already expressed an interested in taking a high AAV deal with less years on the tab, which seems to be a dream scenario for an unwilling bidder — in most situations — in Andrew Friedman and company.

Friedman has already expressed a willingness to ‘change the complexion’ of the Dodgers’ roster come 2020:

“As far as a jumping-off point for the offseason to have the returning talent we have, to have the financial flexibility that we have, to have the depth in-house in terms of trade options — I think it gives us a lot of flexibility, and I think everything is on the table.”

The Dodgers will have approximately $119 million allocated to contracts in 2020, according to Spotrac, while not including arbitration figures that are set to rise for numerous players. All in all, though, the Dodgers will have more than enough money to stay under the luxury tax threshold and also sign Anthony Rendon to a deal of his liking. The CBT threshold will rise a significant amount up to $208 million.

Overall

While it certainly is not the Dodgers’ rep to sign players like Anthony Rendon and we continue to say ‘this year, we need to make a big move’, there is a legitimate chance that this comes to fruition. The Dodgers first-round exit and two World Series losses in 2017 and 2018 should provide the necessary motivation for Friedman to make the big move.

Daniel Preciado

My name is Daniel Preciado and I am 19 years old. I am a sophomore Sport Analytics major and Cognitive Science and Economics dual minor at Syracuse University. When I am not in New York, I live in Whittier, California --- not too far from Chavez Ravine. I am pretty old-school for being an analytics guy and I will always embrace debate. Also, Chase Utley did absolutely nothing wrong.

29 Comments

  1. Rendon doesn’t want to be apart of this sht show he’s currently on a team that does things the right way and puts themselves in a spot to win not lose like Roberts

    1. Right? Because who would want to be a part of a team that won 106 games and 7 straight division championships, all while maintaining a top 5 minor league program. He would be completely insane to ever make that mistake wouldn’t he.

      1. Ryan, first of all, the Nats just may re-sign Rendon themselves, especially if they win the WS. Secondly, he may not want to sign here in part BECAUSE of how Roberts handles the ever revolving door of daily lineup changes and some of his ludicrous decisions that Rendon himself most likely is well aware of.

        1. Well said Paul. Rendone was pleasantly surprised at 89 MPH Kershaw was left in the game to pitch to him. Fans for whatever reason seem happy with the wins and poor performance of in game decisions by Roberts. Players have a higher knowledge of the game and get who is a better manager and who they want to play for. I really don’t think Rendon would even consider the Dodgers.

      2. Hey Ryan players want to win championships and it’s obvious to fans and players alike that this team isn’t run to win it all. It’s run to win over the coarse of 162 games and then they’ve got numerous yearly chokers who by now that’s just who they are, and a bird brain manager who’s descions work against them to add even more adversity

      3. 106 wins and 7 straight division championships in a division made up of the Giants, Padres, D-Backs, and Rockies.

  2. Ummmm how many offensive records have our players set this year? Clearly to go after another infielder should not even be on our radar at this point. I’m not even going to mention where we need to focus because it’s just that damn obvious. And for all you knuckleheads out there calling for Roberts to leave and were hoping to get another manager, go ahead and look up manager stats in their first 5 years and make an argument then. above 500 every year post season , pennants, ws trips. People wanted Maddon so I looked up his first 5 years and it wasn’t even comparable. Jst get behind our team as a whole as I have since 1969 and enjoy the ride. BTW remember that Machado kid, how well did that go for us…..stop chasing shiny objects and polish the ones you have.

    1. Nice Try. From what I have seen on blogs all over the place it’s about 85% that Roberts is not all that good. He’s even starting to get booed in home games. Only reason he’s back is because Fraudman signed him for that long contract and he’s on the cheap not wanting to waste his money by firing Roberts. Not winning the WS is for losers. Padres, Marlins, Dodgers are all in the same boat. Losers. The Dodgers are actually worse because they are really trying.

    2. I like what we have a very talented team. We don’t need Rendon. What we need is a better Manager who makes great decisions when it counts. No disrespect to Kershaw he may be one of the best pitchers in a long time and we wasted his better years already but Dave Robots put him in a position to fail. Kershaw will for ever be known as a weak choke artist player of all time because our manager is plain not stupid but hard headed. Protect your players set them up for success not failure. Duh Kershaw past trend. Robots is just an idiot and think he has the Midas touch. Showalter would have been my choice. I would try to get him as another bench coach. Robots messes up in 2020 he must go. Should be fired in my opinion. With the talent this team has they will be in every year with our weak division

  3. I think that Gerrit Cole is a bigger priority than Rendon. I’m fine with both, but Cole is an immediate need that will benefit the long term.

    1. Right on Kevin. An even bigger concern is what to do with Kershaw. He has a love affair with too many fans that make it very difficult for management to deal him, but IMO that is exactly what is needed at this stage of his career. Despite his ERA, he has now become a post season liability. If he were to be kept, I would leave him off of the post season roster which again IMO would bring a firestorm of complaints from his supporters. So what to do? Remember, we traded Hershiser, Sutton, Tommy John, and Sutcliff who still had a few years left in them toward the end of their careers. It is time to trade him while we still can get reasonably good value in return.

      1. Remember what former Dodger GM Al Campanis once said: “Better to deal a star player one year too soon than one year too late!

      2. He will never be off the post season plus it may be Jansen as well who takes up an unnecessary space after he blows up next season. I think the dodgers really don’t have any excuses to not go after Cole. Isn’t Hill’s 18 mil and Ryu’s 18 mil expiring leaving over 35 for someone like Cole.

  4. Gerritt Cole should be the first option followed by Will Smith. Actually BOTH should be the first option. While our offense wasn’t the best it was the pitching that failed even more.

  5. The Dodgers should do whatever it takes to sign Tony Rendon. He is a lot like JT, he’ll play anywhere in the infield to help the team. However< I don't believe Rendon is motivated solely by money. He'll have loyalty to the Nats, especially if they win the World Series. So the Dodgers better bring their checkbook to get him. The Guggenheime's did just that when they bought the Dodgers.

  6. Then there’s always Nolan Arenado at 3B…. He’s a free agent in 20121 but Colorado could trade him early for the right package…

  7. this is all silly. Dodgers are loaded with position players. Ruiz looks like an up and comer, Muncy can play third well so we can move Turner to first. Sign our own starting with Peterson and Ryu. Ask the Yankees how Stanton worked out, I guess the Nationals really miss that outfielder they lost last year, Bryce somebody.

    1. Completely agree with you, why sign anyone for the regular starting roster? If you move Turner to 1st what do you do with Muncy and Lux? The Dodgers have players on the Farm capable of coming up and playing. Look at Beaty and his success at making contact and RISP. What do you do with him? How about Ruis? Downs and Estevez are coming soon along with catchers such as Ruiz and Wong.
      They have a possible home grown starting roster of Buehler, Urias, May, Gonsolin and Grey. A starting line up of Lux, Seager, Bellinger, Muncy, Turner, Verdugo, Pederson/Pollock, Smith is a cost controlled winning roster with Beaty, Hernandez and a catcher are I believe locks
      So props to Rendon and his great season but why do they need him? To me this is just more sportswriter hype to sell coverage. Remember the propaganda about Harper, Machado/ All winter we will hear about Cole, Rendon, Ryu, Smith and others.

  8. Well, I’d make Muncy the everyday 2nd baseman because I don’t believe Lux is ready yet and needs a full season at AAA. I’d platoon Kike and Beatty in left field or get rid of Pollock and then platoon Beatty and Taylor in left with Kike in right and look to deal Joc as he may never have higher trade value than he does right now. There are some experienced catchers available that would be better than Martin to back up Smith. I really don’t want to ever see Barnes again as he’s proven over and over that he can’t hit big league pitching. In the bullpen I’d like to see the end of Garica for sure and Jansen, but who’d take him in a deal after the crappy season he just had?
    Cole or Strasburg are a must have as far as I’m concerned. I don’t know why anyone would want Hill back at 40 years old as we’d be lucky to get a dozen starts out of him – no sentimental/”he’s a great clubhouse guy” reasoning. Don’t sign Ryu unless he agrees to a 2 year deal at less than market value because of his fragility, and offer him a 3rd year if he pitches at least 175 innings in each of the first 2 years. Kershaw’s not going anywhere, but please for the love of everything holy get someone to teach him how to throw a change-up and a cut fastball.

  9. The Dodgers really need a big time pitcher such as Gerritt Cole. Kershaw is declining, and a big man such as Cole will be a formidable addition to the starting rotation. What to do with Kershaw? He requires 3 innings now to get focused. Are the Dodgers willing to rely on their bats for those 3 innings?

  10. As much as I love Kershaw and Jansen every player has a limit to their career.The Dodger’s need to move on from them and go after the best available starter and closer.The lineup is fine and the young player’s coming up should be able to score enough runs.Robert’s needs to start managing with his head and not his heart!

  11. We need two to three aces or power starters to compete in the playoffs against the better teams. Right now the Dodgers have one ace in Buehler and untested pitchers in Urias,May and Ginsolin. That’s why the Dodgers need to sign one of the three ,Cole,Strasburg if he opts out and Wheeler. We should sign lefty reliever Smith to work in conjunction with Jansen to close games. Trade pieces are Pederson,Stripling Barnes ,and CT3 or Hernandez to acquire a right hand bat.Let Hill and Ryu walk. Ryu had the year of his life and Hill is too injury prone. Lots of work to do for AF and the front office. Need some new talented faces to move foward to a World Championship. The fans are tired of hearing about salary cap restrictions. Open up the wallet and get it done. There really should be no excuses. Think about the revenue they lost by getting eliminated in the their first round of the playoffs by not having the right playoff roster to compete.

  12. JT is making it too easy for the club. I’ve been and seen that if your Mr nice guy all the time you’ll be booted out. I hope this doesn’t happen to JT. And why Rendon? There’s a lot of other positions that need to be taken care of. The most major part is pitching. Second is hitting, basically base hits, not this ( I gotta hit a home run every time I’m up to hit doo-doo). Don’t get rid of Roberts. The whole team is to blame. key pitches were missed, didn’t hit the spot where the catcher wanted it. Key base hits that were needed that Mr multi-million dollar superstar couldn’t hit. The Dodgers proved time after time that base hits win games, they’ve come from behind on base hits and won games.

  13. DODGERS HAVE A GREAT TEAM , HAVE TO FOCUS ON DISCIPLINE , NOT SELF RIGHTEOUSNESS , (TO A FEW PLAYERS) IT STARTS IN SPRING TRAINING AND CONTINUES THE WHOLE SEASON NOT JUST A PARTIAL SEASON , DISCIPLINE, THEY HAVE PHENOMENAL POTENTION , AND IT WOULD BE A SHAME AGAIN TO LET IT FALTER , THE FRONT OFFICE HAS TO BE UNDERSTANDING THAT, IT IS IN THERE HANDS TO MAKE OR BREAK A SEASON THE EFFECT IT HAS ON THE TEAM AS A WHOLE . GET WHAT YOU NEED IF ANY AND GET RID OF WHAT YOU DON’T , SAD BUT TRUE COMPASSION HAS IT’S PLACE BUT MUST BE USED WISELY.

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