Justin Turner is widely regarded as one of the best third basemen in all of baseball. The 2017 All-Star has received MVP votes in three of the last four seasons, doing a ton of damage in the middle of the Los Angeles Dodgers lineup.
After being so successful in Los Angeles, many baseball fans nationally may have forgotten that Turner got his start as a utility infielder for the New York Mets back in 2011.
Originally drafted in the seventh round by the Cincinnati Reds, Turner was traded to the Baltimore Orioles prior to the 2009 season. At 24 years old, Turner made his debut that year, but failed to establish himself with the Orioles. Turner was designated for assignment on May 21, 2010. Four days later he was claimed by the Mets.
Turner played four games with the Mets in his first season, before becoming a mainstay in 2011. Turner hit his first career home run on May 15, 2011. The homer was a three-run shot that put the finishing touches on a five-RBI day.
That effort was part of a seven-game stretch in which Turner had an RBI in every contest, setting a Mets rookie record. After failing to record an RBI in his next two games after that streak, Turner started another with RBIs in six-straight games. In the month of May, Turner hit .325/.378/.458, with eight doubles and 20 RBIs.
Turner started 102 games as rookie, before becoming more of bench player in the following two seasons. Daniel Murphy found a home starting at second base in 2012, taking over the position that Turner had handled primarily in his first year.
Still, Turner was a relatively productive player for the Mets in his final year with the club in 2013. He hit .280/.319/.385, with 13 doubles across 200 at-bats. Despite having him under team-control for three more seasons, the Mets chose to non-tender Turner in December of 2013.
The Dodgers signed Turner to a minor league deal with an invitation to spring training. After a good spring, the Dodgers purchased his $1 million contract to make him a part of their big league roster.
In 2014, Eric Campbell ended up taking over Turner’s role as a utility infielder for the Mets. Meanwhile Turner was raking, hitting .340/.404/.493 in his first season in L.A.
Juan Uribe was the Dodgers incumbent starting third baseman when Turner arrived on the scene, but by 2015 he was cast aside for their new red-headed superstar. Uribe was then traded to the Atlanta Braves before ultimately landing with the Mets, where he helped contribute towards an NL East division title. A chest contusion pulled Uribe off the Mets playoff roster until the World Series.
Turner however was a prominent member of the Dodgers playoff roster in 2015, getting revenge on the Mets in the NLDS.
New York’s great pitching staff was no match for Turner in that series, as he recorded hits in 10 of his 19 at-bats with six of them being doubles. Despite his heroics, the Mets won that series, but overall Turner had the last laugh.
Over six seasons played with the Dodgers, Turner has hit .302/.381/.506, with 112 home runs, 168 doubles and 383 RBIs. On December 23, 2016, Turner signed a four-year, $64 million contract to remain in L.A. through the 2020 season.
While there was no indication that Turner would become this good at the time, non-tendering him was one of the biggest mistakes the Mets have made in recent memory.
