Categories: Rumors

How much would it cost to sign Trea Turner?

Could the Phillies sign Trea Turner this offseason? (Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire)

The Philadelphia Phillies are the odds-on favorites to sign Trea Turner if he doesn’t return to the Los Angeles Dodgers, but it’s going to take one of the largest contracts in MLB history to land the star shortstop.

Jon Heyman of The New York Post spoke to an “outside expert” that believes that Turner will sign for nine years and $275 million.

Tim Britton of The Athletic projects a shorter deal, but at a higher average annual value. His projection is an eight-year/$296 million deal for the two-time All-Star shortstop.

Former Cincinnati Reds and Washington Nationals general manager Jim Bowden — also writing for The Athletic — has Turner pegged at an eight-year/$264 million deal.

While the Dodgers will likely mount an attempt to retain Turner, they’ve allowed both Manny Machado and Corey Seager to depart for 10-year deals in recent offseasons. If Turner, who will turn 30 next June, seeks close to a decade, it will be interesting to see if Andrew Friedman and the Dodgers pivot in another direction.

Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reported in late October that “the Dodgers could become serious players in this offseason’s Aaron Judge sweepstakes.” Perhaps if they’re going to give a deal of at least eight seasons this winter, the Dodgers would prefer to go all in and land Judge, the top free-agent available this offseason.

From the perspective of the Phillies, there would be quite a bit of risk in giving eight or more years to an infielder whose game is based around his tremendous athleticism. But that’s what it’s going to take to land the two-time All-Star, and it doesn’t seem like any of the other star shortstops

— Carlos Correa, Xander Bogaerts and Dansby Swanson — will open the offseason seeking a deal shorter than, say, seven years.