Justin Turner Rips Rob Manfred for Calling World Series Trophy 'a Piece of Metal'

Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner is frustrated with MLB commissioner Rob Manfred following his recent comments on the Astros' sign-stealing scandal.

Turner hoped to move on from the cheating saga by staying focused on the new season ahead. But Manfred's comment on Sunday that it would be "futile" for MLB to force the Astros to forfeit their World Series trophy—which he called "a piece of metal"—set him off again.

"The reason every guy's in this room, the reason every guy is working out all offseason, and showing up to camp early and putting in all the time and effort is specifically for that trophy, which, by the way, is called the commissioner's trophy," Turner told reporters Monday.

"So for him to devalue it the way he did yesterday just tells me how out of touch he is with the players in this game. At this point the only thing devaluing that trophy is that it says 'commissioner' on it."

During an interview on ESPN, Manfred weighed in on the Astros' cheating operation and said MLB considered stripping the club of its 2017 World Series title ahead of releasing its findings.

"I am a believer in the idea that precedent happens and when you deviated from that, you have to have a very good reason," he said. "The report gave people a transparent account of what went on...

"The idea of an asterisk or asking for a piece of metal back, seems like a futile act. People will always know that something was different about the 2017 season, and whether we made that decision right or wrong, we undertook a thorough investigation, and had the intestinal fortitude to share the results of that investigation, even when those results were not very pretty."

Houston beat the Dodgers in seven games to win the 2017 World Series.

Turner has spoken out about the sign-stealing scheme on numerous occasions and said he does not want the 2017 championship to be awarded to the Dodgers. However, he doesn't think the Astros should continue to celebrate the title either.

"We understand how difficult it is to win a World Series," Turner said, per The Athletic. "It's hard. It's really hard. It's something that you have to earn. And obviously, as the report showed, as all these guys from their club over there are coming back and apologizing and trying to make amends for it, it's pretty evident to me that it wasn't earned.

"And it's not something where a banner should be hung in their stadium, a trophy should be put up wherever their trophies go. They shouldn't have rings. Sorry. A World Series championship is earned. It defines people's careers."