The shortstop market in MLB free agency has seen its first major domino fall. With players such as Carlos Correa, Trea Turner, Xander Bogaerts, and Dansby Swanson all available, teams have several elite options to choose from this offseason.
In typical fashion, many of the big spenders around baseball have a need, with the Atlanta Braves, Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Mets, and New York Yankees all digging into the cost of adding such big names, as we see above. Then there are other, smaller-market teams, such as the Minnesota Twins, who still want to retain Correa, if possible.
Yet one team we have not mentioned yet is the Philadelphia Phillies, who struck quickly to reach a blockbuster deal with Turner. According to Jeff Passan, Turner has agreed to an 11-year, $300 million contract with the Phillies.
- Trea Turner stats in 2022: 21 HR, 100 RBI, .298/.343/.466/.809
The deal includes a full no-trade clause and reunites him with Phillies hitting coach Kevin Long, who Turner has hyped up as the reason he is a career .302 hitter at the plate. Turner, 29, will now be under contract with Philadelphia until he’s 40 years old, and the agreement includes no opt-outs.
Related: MLB free agent tracker: Jacob deGrom comes off the board
How Trea Turner’s contract impacts free agent market
With Turner leaving the Dodgers, it creates an even bigger need at the shortstop position in LA. We could very well see the Dodgers pivot to another top free agent, such as Correa, Bogaerts, and Swanson, or possibly even see them dip into the trade market with an enticing enough offer.
For now, we know they’ve kicked the tires on adding Bogaerts, and also have been linked to shortstop trades.
But that’s just the Dodgers. What about the other teams, such as the San Diego Padres, who reportedly met with Turner in free agency twice? As you can imagine, many teams had interest in Turner but may not have been willing to meet his asking price. That doesn’t mean organizations won’t still be chasing other solutions.
Either way, with one less impact player available via free agency, we could see several teams begin to get nervous with the Winter Meetings approaching when it comes to solving their shortstop concerns.
Related: Boston Red Sox still low-balling Xander Bogaerts, offers ‘haven’t come close’ in MLB free agency