Turner no fan of baseball’s free-agency foot-dragging
Justin Turner eventually got his deal and is happy to be a part of the Toronto Blue Jays as position players reported for their first day of work here Monday.
As for so many prominent names in the rest of the 2024 free-agent class, Turner says the developments this winter have been bad for the game. With so many prominent players unsigned just days away from pre-season play beginning, the freeagency system has had a failed off-season thus far.
“It’s a bit of a black eye on baseball,” Turner said at the Jays’ player development complex. “You have all these guys that are Cy Young (winners), batting titles, rookieof-the-year guys on the freeagent market and they are having a hard time finding a job. I don’t think it’s a good look.”
Turner agreed to a oneyear deal with the Jays on Jan. 31 worth US$13 million, not exactly an early end to the process for the former World Series champ with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
“It’s just frustrating, obviously for the guys in the free-agency class. I think it’s frustrating for a lot of teams around the league trying to figure out where some of these guys are gonna go.”
Among the big-name free agents that remain on the market are former Blue Jays third baseman Matt Chapman and former Dodgers teammate with Turner, Cody Bellinger, to name two. Turner doesn’t believe establishing a signing deadline is an answer, either.
“That’s above my pay grade, obviously, but I’d like to see everyone get signed as soon as possible,” Turner said. “I just don’t know how that would work. What happens if someone doesn’t get signed in that period? Are they just not allowed to play baseball anymore? There’s a lot of unknowns.”
Toronto means a lot of things to Blue Jays pitcher Yusei Kikuchi, a growing affinity that goes well beyond being embraced by the fans and some sushi humour tied to the team’s pursuit of superstar Shohei Ohtani.
In fact, the Japanese lefty and his wife decided to take that fondness a step further by making Toronto home for much of their off-season, and enrolled four-year-old son Leo in school at their adopted home.
“The city means a lot not just to me, but to my family,” Yusei Kikuchi said in an interview translated by Yusuke Oshima. “We all enjoy Toronto and the Toronto fans. Putting on the Blue Jays uniform, you get the feeling that you’re representing a whole country, a full nation. I’m proud to be a Toronto Blue Jay and happy to be here. During the season, it’s hard to go out, but spending the off-season in Toronto up until January, pretty much, I was able to learn more about the city and check out different restaurants and stuff. I trained there as well. It was a good time.
“It’s a safe city. It’s easy to raise a family. My entire family enjoyed it. Walking around the city of Toronto I can really feel the support from people. We definitely feel the love.”
Naturally Kikuchi was intrigued at the Jays’ high-profile chase of Shohei Ohtani before he landed with the Dodgers. He said management did not tap into his background and familiarity with the legend from his homeland.
“Obviously I wanted to play with him,” Kikuchi said. “He’s the best player in baseball. Who wouldn’t want to play with somebody like that? But we already have a good squad here. We can win a championship and I feel good about that.”
As for what awaits, the task is clear to Kikuchi: continue to build on that excellent 2023 season, an admirable recovery from his first with the team.
A year ago, Kikuchi came here with something to prove and made a massive early impression. He followed that with a stellar April and went on to become a key cog in the Jays’ rotation, especially after Alek Manoah’s season disintegrated.
Before long, Kikuchi was a big part of what emerged as one of MLB’S best rotations, a status he aims to return to in 2024.
“We’ve talked a lot about last season, but that’s over with,” Kikuchi said. “All I can think about is not just making sure I stay in the rotation, but how I can get better and how I can stay healthy. We expected better of ourselves last year. We didn’t think that this was a team that would go two and out (in the playoffs). I wanted to turn that moment into fuel and work hard in the winter and I’m looking forward to the season.”