Brewers Lose Out On Signing Justin Turner As He Returns To Dodgers

A disappointing, but somewhat expected end to a valiant pursuit. Justin Turner has decided to spurn the Milwaukee Brewers best efforts and return to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Despite the Brewers putting out a strong, competitive, multi-year offer on the table, Turner decided to the return to the organization he’s spent the last seven seasons with.

Oddly enough, it was Turner himself who announced the news.

“Plan A” for the Brewers is now out the window. Reports have said the Brewers really liked Turner, including owner Mark Attanasio’s personal intrigue in signing him. Unfortunately, they didn’t have enough to convince him to leave the Dodgers.

It’s not out of the question that the Brewers offered more money to Turner than the Dodgers, but given his familiarity with the organization and the fact that the Dodgers roster is stacked and primed to return to the World Series again, Turner could’ve been willing to take less money to return.

The Brewers have to turn to backup options at third base after Justin Turner spurns them.

Now that Turner is off the market, the rest of the third base market can move and the Brewers can pivot to alternatives. At the top of the list is likely Jedd Gyorko, who was one of the few positive offensive contributors in 2020.

Gyorko’s .838 OPS last year helped give a little life to a mostly dormant Brewers offense.

Other possible options are Maikel Franco and Jake Lamb. Both have had ups and downs in their careers and would make sense on one year deals.

Jeff Passan reported that Turner signed a two year contract worth more than $30MM. An AAV of $15MM or more would certainly be tough to imagine the Brewers fitting into their payroll.

The current third base situation has Luis Urias and Daniel Robertson manning the position. While defensively they could be solid, that pairing leaves a lot to be desired on offense. Even if Urias reaches his full offensive potential this year, he won’t have much for power. Robertson has yet to show much of anything at the big league level.

As exciting as the idea that Turner would be in the Brewers lineup was, it’s equally disappointing knowing that he won’t be and there isn’t another option on the market who can bring the type of offensive potential that Turner can.

Even if the Brewers get someone else, the long term questions are still there and third base will continue to be a question mark going forward.

Now that Stearns knows, he’s likely calling the other remaining third basemen on the market right now. If the Crew goes into the season with just what they have now, it will be a major disappointment.