MLB Rumors: Justin Turner Close To Rejoining Dodgers On Four-Year Contract

The Los Angeles Dodgers have been doing a pretty good job of retaining their free agents so far. And they apparently don’t care about the luxury tax.

The Dodgers reportedly spent Monday working on re-signing closer Kenley Jansen and third baseman Justin Turner, with Jansen rumored to have agreed to a five-year, $80 million contract. And according to plenty of Major League Baseball reporters, Turner’s deal looks to be in the same ballpark. According to those reports, the Dodgers and Turner are nearing a deal.

ESPN’s Buster Olney and FanRag Sports’ Jon Heyman both reported Monday that Turner’s contract would be for four years, and the New York Post’s Joel Sherman tweeted the Dodgers were close to an agreement at $64 million. Considering the Dodgers also re-signed starter Rich Hill recently to a three-year, $48 million deal, Los Angeles certainly is putting a lot of money into its free agents.

But Turner has enjoyed somewhat of a career resurgence with the Dodgers, so it’s not entirely surprising they’d go all out to keep him in L.A. The third baseman was pretty mediocre in four seasons with the New York Mets, but he has a .296 average and .856 OPS to go with 50 home runs and 193 RBIs in three seasons with the Dodgers beginning in 2014. The 2016 season was arguably the best of Turner’s career, as he finished ninth in National League MVP voting, hitting 27 home runs and driving in 90 runs while playing strong defense at third base.