The Washington Nationals shocked many at the trade deadline when they elected to send Trea Turner to the Los Angeles Dodgers as part of the blockbuster Max Scherzer trade. For Turner, this was a move that he did not see coming.
Before trading him to the Dodgers, Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo had openly talked about his aspirations to keep Turner in the long term by signing him to a new multiyear deal. In March, Rizzo noted that he had plans to soon place an extension deal on the table to Turner. Still, Rizzo did recently reveal that he and Turner had previously agreed to put the extension talks on standstill until after the season.
However, this may not have been the case.
Speaking at a press conference on Saturday, Turner shared that he had been awaiting word from the Nationals front office to reengage in discussions for a new contract deal. In the end, this did not transpire, to the dissatisfaction of the one-time All-Star.
“I've been pretty honest,” Turner said. “I said I would talk about an extension whenever and waited for that to happen, and it didn't happen. I've been told a lot of things over the last two years and, for me, actions speak louder than words.”
Turner also added that he would have liked to play out his entire career in Washington, but the Nationals front office ultimately did not see eye-to-eye on his long-term goals with the team.
MLB Network's Jon Heyman recently noted that the Nationals' last formal offer to Turner was made in March 2020, which centered on a six-year, $100 million extension deal. Turner turned down the offer, and the Nationals front office responded by not making another such offer to him, although it had initial plans to reengage in contracts talks with him before the season.
Turner is now facing an extension dilemma with the Dodgers, but discussions between the two sides on this matter have not opened up yet.
For now, Turner and his former Nationals teammate Max Scherzer will be looking to win a second ring together over this season. First, they have work to do in helping the Dodgers catch the San Francisco Giants in the NL West standings, as they currently sit at four games behind the current division leaders.
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