Dodgers News: Star Free Agent Feels High Payroll Concerns are Slowing Down a Reunion
Last week, the Dodgers made the tough decision not to exercise Justin Turner's $16 million option, making him a free agent for the third time since he joined Los Angeles before the 2014 season. In both 2016 and 2020, JT eventually re-signed with L.A., although he was in his prime in 2016 and still reasonably young in 2020.
Now, two years later, the arithmetic has changed, and while the Dodgers clearly want Turner back in Dodger blue next year, there are numbers they have to crunch to make it work. As JT said on AM570 on Thursday, he still wants to be back, but it's currently out of his hands.
“The Dodgers decided not to pick up my option, so obviously, I’m in free-agent limbo. Obviously, I love being a Dodger, I love being in Los Angeles. This is home for me. But I do understand it’s also a business, and things happen and decisions are made sometimes that are out of our control.
“We’ll see what happens. I’ve been through this twice now, twice already, going through free agency [after] being a Dodger before and working it out to come back and continue to be a Dodger. So hopefully we can make it three in a row, but we’ll see what happens. …
“I’m in good standing with the Dodgers. I’ve talked to Andrew Friedman several times, I’ve talked to Dave Roberts several times. Again, it’s a business. They have some decisions to make on what they want to do as far as— You know, there’s all this crap about the luxury tax and payroll and paying, you know, a gajillion dollars in taxes because the payroll’s been high the last few years. So I think they’re trying to figure out what they need to do and prioritize what’s best for them, and then once those chips fall, we’ll see where I stand.”
It sounds like it's a money thing. A week or two ago, there were hints from insiders that Los Angeles might try to sneak under the competitive balance tax line this offseason to reset the escalating tax rates, and this could be part of those efforts.
As the offseason goes on, we'll get a better idea of where their payroll will be next year with their decisions on Cody Bellinger, shortstop, and the starting rotation, and then we'll see how much the Dodgers want JT back for another year. Hopefully, both sides want the reunion enough to make it happen.
