San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Giants should be targeting Turner
Not many slides are mustsee. There’s a slide, and then there’s a Trea Turner slide.
Turner, the Dodgers’ shortstop, turns sliding into an art form. When Turner hits the dirt, it seems he could slide forever, as if he’s on a backyard Slip ’N Slide, and when he’s about to reach the bag, he effortlessly finds himself standing upright. If it’s a slide into home plate, he sets his left palm on the plate as he whizzes by, his momentum carrying him back on his feet, as if he’s in position to take a bow.
It’s the type of athleticism the San Francisco Giants sorely lack, desperately need and ought to pay for.
Most talk has focused on Aaron Judge as a fit for the Giants, and that makes perfect sense. The man who broke the American League record for homers in a season would be a vital addition to a lineup that needs a big bopper and an outfield that needs stability. Judge grew up a Giants fan in Linden in the San Joaquin Valley.
But for how the Giants operate, for how their roster is shaped, for what president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi stated as his offseason goal, Turner should be their No. 1 pursuit in free agency. Perhaps with fellow shortstop Carlos Correa as Plan B.
In most every interview, Zaidi speaks about making the roster younger and more athletic, especially up the middle, and he’d love to acquire a center fielder and middle infielder.
Turner has started games at three positions in the big leagues: shortstop, second base and center field, and he’s capable everywhere, his two mishaps in Wednesday’s playoff game notwithstanding. Hitting first, second or third in a stacked Dodgers lineup, Turner hit .298/.343/.466 with 21 home runs among 64 extra-base hits, along with 27 stolen bases in 30 attempts.
Turner would provide some elements that Judge can’t: defensive versatility, infield prowess and, of course, baserunning wizardry. Correa has played exclusively shortstop and batted mostly third or fourth in Houston and second this year in Minnesota.
Zaidi said he has support of ownership to sign elite free agents. It’s no secret the Giants have the payroll flexibility to sign any player on the market they choose, even if someone’s commanding well north of $300 million.
The question is how long Judge, 30, Turner, 29, and Correa, 28, would succeed if a deal is for eight to 10 years. Would Judge be a bigger risk because of his huge frame? Would Turner become less valuable when he loses a step? Would Correa eventually need to be moved off shortstop?
It’s an assessment the Giants must make, but they realize they’ll need to overpay to get their man. The Yankees and Dodgers want to re-sign Judge and Turner, respectively, so it’s not like the Giants would be
bidding against the A’s or Marlins.
In Correa’s case, he’d be open to any long-term scenario after not receiving such an offer last winter, settling for a three-year deal with the Twins including opt-outs after each of the first two years. Wednesday, he said he’s opting out.
Availability is paramount. After Judge hit 62 homers in the Bronx, does anyone believe the Yankees won’t do everything necessary to retain him? They made a $213.5 million offer in March that he rejected, wise of him in retrospect. Now they have newfound pressure to sign him following a historic season.
It reminds me of the CC Sabathia negotiations during the 2008 winter meetings in Las Vegas, another time the Giants were all-in on signing an elite free agent with local roots. Yankees general manager Brian Cashman flew to the Bay Area, visited Sabathia at his home in Vallejo and added a seventh year to his offer, sealing the deal
and leaving the Giants in the dust.
Whatever might be the Giants’ final offer to Judge, the Yankees could repeat history and one-up it, keeping Judge in pinstripes. If Judge is determined to play in San Francisco, where he once rooted for Barry Bonds, Rich Aurilia and J.T. Snow, that changes things, and the Giants ought to pay whatever is necessary.
It’s uncertain if the Giants have a chance with Turner, who might prefer to play in the East with his family situated in Florida if he doesn’t re-sign in L.A. Correa wants a long-term deal. Atlanta’s Dansby Swanson and Boston’s Xander Bogaerts, once he opts out of his contract, make for a deep field of freeagent shortstops.
Discussions with any of them have to take Brandon Crawford into account. With four Gold Gloves to his name and with his strong defensive work for the Giants down the stretch, Crawford deserves to be the Opening
Day shortstop, even if Turner is wearing orange and black. Turner could transition back to short in the second year of his deal. If Correa is a Giant, perhaps a conversation with Crawford would be needed.
To win again in the regular season, the Giants need to win the offseason. In a perfect world, that means finding a quality middle infielder and center fielder and re-signing pitcher Carlos Rodón. Do that and the winter would be a success, even if Judge stays in the Bronx.
Signing Turner and Brandon Nimmo, the Mets’ gifted center fielder also eligible for free agency, would be a coup. Here’s another attractive option: the Giants get two core Dodgers, signing not just Turner but also Cody Bellinger.
Bellinger’s offense has taken a dramatic dive since his 2019 MVP season, but he remains a brilliant center fielder. He’s heading to his final year of arbitration, and it’s possible the Dodgers don’t want to pay anything close to $20 million for someone with a .648 OPS the past three years. If they nontender him, he’s a free agent.
The Giants might think their hitting coaches could make the fix that returns Bellinger to his former hitting glory. Imagine a Turner-Bellinger package. It would not only dramatically upgrade the Giants but, perhaps just as important, inflict harm on the Dodgers.
For Giants fans, that’s a winwin.