Trea Turner dictates Dodgers’ entire offseason

There is one major piece to the Dodger offseason and his impact will be felt whether he remains in Dodger blue or signs elsewhere. His name is Trea Turner. Andrew Friedman and Brandon Gomes need to decide if they even want to re-sign Turner, and if they do, how long they are willing to wait for him to choose his next destination.

Bill Plunkett at the Orange County Register outlines the Dodgers’ decision. Ultimately, if the Dodgers do decide to make a run at the 2021 National League Batting Champion, that significantly lowers the budget they have to spend on other players throughout the offseason. If they decide to move on, shortstop instantly becomes a hole they need to fill, whether it be via free agent or internally.

Turner is part of a group that consists of multiple marquee free agent shortstops this winter, including Carlos Correa, Xander Bogaerts, and Dansby Swanson. Trea’s contract is going to look somewhat similar to what the Dodgers refused to pay Corey Seager last offseason. Pair that with rumors about Trea preferring to play back on the east coast, it’s hard to see a direct path to a reunion.

So, where do the Dodgers go? Certainly, you can look in house. Gavin Lux came up as a shortstop, Chris Taylor has big league experience at shortstop. There are options. If not, there are plenty of guys available on the market that with Turner’s money off the books, they can afford if they want to.

Read Plunkett’s complete article here.

Dodgers Links

David Schoenfield at ESPN released his way-too-early power rankings for the 2023 MLB season with the defending champs coming in at No. 1 and the Dodgers at No. 5.

After missing large chunks of the 2022 season, it’s more bad news for Blake Treinen, writes Bill Plunkett at the Orange County Register. Treinen’s shoulder issues could force him into off-season surgery that would derail his 2023 season before it even starts.

Andrew Friedman spoke publicly at the GM meetings and made one thing clear: Bringing back Justin Turner and Clayton Kershaw is a priority, writes Jack Harris at the Los Angeles Times.