Dodgers News: Justin Turner Remains Hopeful He'll Be in Blue Next Season

In many ways, Justin Turner is the heart and soul of the Dodgers. After coming to Los Angeles on a minor-league contract prior to the 2014 season, JT has been one of the best hitters in baseball over the last nine season. He's also a native son, having grown up in L.A. County rooting for the Dodgers, and he and his wife Kourtney have been pillars of the community for years.

Now, Turner finds himself unsure what the future holds for him. The Dodgers hold a $16 million team option with a $2 million buyout, and there's a chance they could decline it and make him a free agent.

Turner was on AM570's Roggin & Rodney show on Thursday, and he told the hosts he hasn't heard anything from the Dodgers yet. Fred Roggin asked Turner if he'd be interested in playing somewhere else if they Dodgers don't pick up his option, and it sounds like JT isn't ready to hang up his spikes just yet.

“I definitely want to continue to play. I’m hoping everything works out and it’s in a Dodger uniform. My career has taken off here. Our foundation has been doing wonderful things here, and we want to continue that. It would be great to end my career as a Dodger, but things don’t always go as planned and we don’t know what’s gonna happen.

“But I do still feel like I love playing the game, I love going out there every day. I love the teaching aspect of it, spending time with the younger guys, spending time in the cage and talking about it.

“The way my second half went, I definitely know there’s more in the tank, and I want to keep going.”

After a rough start to his 2022, Turner was about as good as he's ever been over the last three months of the season. So while his overall numbers were the worst of his nine years in Los Angeles, there's plenty of reason to believe he can still hit well.

But his defense has taken a step back, and nearly half of his plate appearances this year came as the designated hitter. Turner will be 38 later this month, so that percentage is only likely to go higher. The Dodgers generally like to use the DH to give days off to several players, so the question will likely come down to how much of their DH time they're willing to give to JT.

Everyone wants him back in Dodger blue; it's just a matter of making it work.