Dodgers and Trea Turner avoid arbitration and settle on $21 million contract

One of the primary reasons that the Nationals decided to part ways with Trea Turner and trade him to the Dodgers was that is was clear he was going to be making big time money both in the short and long-term. With the Nationals not set to contend in the near-term, having a luxury like Trea around (especially with his free agency looming) didn’t make the most sense.

However, what that meant is that for 2022, the Dodgers were on the hook for what the arbitration process would yield for Turner’s final year as an arb-eligible player. The estimates for him for this season were in the $19 million range and, well, he did a little better than that.

With Corey Seager leaving LA, the Dodgers could be trying to convince Trea to stay for the long-haul as their shortstop. One step towards that goal is making sure there is no acrimony over his 2022 contract and it is fair to say that he is going to be very well compensated this season. Turner has become one of the top players in the league thanks to very solid defense at a premium position, top end speed that he uses to full effect, and a lot of production at the plate.

We knew he would be a Dodger in 2022, now the question is whether or not the Dodgers can convince him to stay on a long-term extension or do the giga dollars he is likely to find in free agency make him want to explore the free market a bit. Regardless, the Dodgers seem set for 2022 season as they assembled one of the best lineups we have seen in baseball in some time.