There was no sign of age at all.

The Major League Baseball’s official website MLB said, The Toronto Blue Jays signed a one-year contract worth $13 million about 17.3 billion won with Justin Turner, adding, We brought one of the most reliable veteran players in the baseball world.

According to MLB’s John Morosi, the contract reportedly includes a $1.5 million roster and performance bonus.

Turner started his professional career by being drafted by the Cincinnati Reds with the 204th overall pick in the seventh round of the 2006 draft. He moved to the Baltimore Orioles through a trade in 2009 and made his first big league appearance. Later, he joined the New York Mets through trade during the 2010 season and received many opportunities in the 2011 season.

Turner had 113 hits in 117 games, four homers and a batting average of 0.260 OPS in the 2011 season. However, he worked as a backup utility in the 2012 and 2013 seasons, and was eventually released as a non-tender ahead of the 2014 season. Later, he moved to the Los Angeles Dodgers, and his heyday began.

Starting with the batting average of 0.340 OPS 0.897, he recorded 113 hits in 126 games, 16 homers, 0.294 OPS 0.861 in the 2015 season, 153 hits in 151 games, 27 homers, and 0.275 OPS 0.832. Since the 2017 season, he has gained more destructive power, recording 147 hits in 130 games, 21 homers, 0.33 OPS 0.945, and 104 hits in 103 games, 14 homers, and 0.312 OPS 0.924. He has recorded a batting average of .300 and .90 for two consecutive seasons.

Turner, who has been consistently active with the Dodgers since then, recorded 130 hits, 13 homers, 81 RBIs, 61 runs batted in 0.278 OPS in 128 games in the 2022 season, his last season with the Dodgers, and the last season when the OPS did not exceed 80 percent was in the 2013 season. He failed to surpass 800 percent of OPS in nine seasons.

Afterwards, he left the Dodgers and signed a one-year $15 million contract with the Boston Red Sox, recording 154 hits, 23 home runs, 96 RBIs, 86 runs and a batting average of 0.276 OPS 0.800.

The Major League Trade Rumors MLBTR reported that Turner turned 39 in November last year. However, there was no sign of his age in the 2023 season, adding, Based on the wRC+ adjusted scoring ability, Turner is 14 percent better than the league average, which is an amazing record of more than 14 percent with the bat for the 10th consecutive season. Turner, considered one of the best corner infielders and designated hitter options, will position himself as a professional hitter who is respected for his leadership and presence in the locker room in the Toronto lineup.

MLBTR continued, The consistency of Turner riding and getting on is very amazing. Since he became the main player of the Dodgers in the 2014 season, he has never fallen below 0.275, slugging percentage of 0.339, and on-base percentage of 0.438 in 10 seasons. I have never struck out more than 18% in a single season, he said. I have averaged 24 home runs and 35 steals in 162 games over the past 10 years.

Turner will also receive $6.7 million about 8.9 billion won from Boston. Turner signed a contract with Boston that included a player option for the second season. He gave up his options and received a $6.7 million buyout to go to the open market, MLBTR said. It is 50 percent of the $13.4 million about 17.8 billion won he would have received if he remained in the 2024 season.

Toronto showed interest in big names such as Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto L.A. Dodgers during the offseason, but lost all of their games. Turner is considered the best big name Toronto recruited ahead of this season.

However, there are still areas that need to be reinforced. It is the starting lineup. Toronto has strong top three players, Kevin Gausman, Chris Bassett, and Jose Berrios, but Yusei Kikuchi lacks consistency year after year and Alec Manoa has had a catastrophic season, MLBTR said.

Also, many big names still remain in the free agent FA market. Cody Bellinger, Blake Snell, and Matt Chapman are included. Toronto has Dalton Bashaw, Kevin Kiermaier, and George Springer in the outfield, and Turner is the designated hitter, MLBTR said. From the perspective of roster composition, it is appropriate to reunite with Chapman. 먹튀검증