New York Mets looking to solidify infield with Justin Turner

After a quiet start to the MLB offseason, things have sped up at light speed over the last month and a half. A majority of the superstar free-agents have found their next homes, save for third baseman Justin Turner. 

According to reports, fans may see a reunion between Turner and his former team, the New York Mets. 

New York Mets eye Justin Turner 

Turner spent four years in New York from 2010-13 before finding resounding success with the Los Angeles Dodgers. During his seven-year run in Los Angeles, Turner notched his lone All-Star Game appearance alongside multiple World Series trips and a championship title last season. 

Aside from the reunion, New York remains heavily interested in Turner because of his ability to round out the starting infield. The Mets, under the guidance of new principal owner Steve Cohen, made one of the biggest offseason splashes in trading for Francisco Lindor. Lindor slots as the clear-cut face of the franchise and captains the infield at shortstop. 

The promising young talent and one-time All-Star Pete Alonso controls the starting role at first base. New York also plans to shift Jeff McNeil back to his natural position of second base. Of course, the lone question mark remains third base. 

Currently, Luis Guillorme and J.D. Davis are expected to compete for time at the hot corner. Turner is an obvious upgrade from this duo as the Mets struggled to find offense in the infield last season. 

In 2020, New York’s third basemen ranked 24th in RBIs (21), 26th in slugging percentage (.343), and 26th in home runs (four). Turner eclipsed all of these metrics last season, knocking home 23 RBIs, four home runs, and a .460 slugging percentage.

Lindor also presents a major upgrade as New York’s shortstops ranked 17th in home runs (six) and 21st in OPS (.698). Lindor, despite suffering somewhat of a “down year,” slugged .750 with eight home runs. 

While the New York Mets remain interested in solidifying their infield, particularly its offensive production, the front office has some work to do before finding a contract. According to Ken Rosenthal, Turner and the front office have yet to find common ground on contract length and worth.